Texas men’s basketball secured a 71-55 win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and despite the 16-point lead the Longhorns had to finish off the game, it was still a close matchup.
The Islanders were able to draw fouls, especially in the second half and had an intimidating defensive pressure that resulted in 14 Texas turnovers and a number of unforced passing errors.
The Longhorns were unable to build a substantial lead in the first half and even let the Islanders create a 7-0 run. One crucial thing that seemed to be missing in the first half was the scoring abilities of graduate guard Max Abmas. While still leading both teams in scoring with 17 points by the end of the game, he only was able to accumate four points in the first half. He finished off the game shooting 50% on the floor and only made one out of six attempted 3-pointers, low statistics for Texas’ top scorer.
The Islanders hung around and fought through the second half, demolishing Texas’ 10-point lead from halftime and going on an intense run that brought the lead down to just three points with less than 10 minutes remaining. After a Texas time out, it was able to hold back the Islanders and finally build momentum it did not seem to have throughout the game thus far. A hot run from Texas not only fended off Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but created the biggest lead it had the entire matchup.
Graduate forward guard Dylan Disu made his debut at the Moody Center for his first game back at home and in his 17 minutes of playing time managed to throw up 11 points, four rebounds and three blocks, with most of those blocks coming from close points in the game where Texas needed them most.
Sophomore Dillon Mitchell had his third straight double-double and fifth of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds. The starter has continued to improve his defensive ability and control. Mitchell held three fouls for a majority of the second half and was able to put pressure on the Islanders without creating unnecessary contact.
Both graduate forward Brock Cunningham and sophomore guard Chendall Weaver showed their importance in the matchup. Cunningham held 10 points, four rebounds and two blocks and Weaver finished with four points, one rebound and one block in only 12 minutes of playing time, with his first points coming off of an impressive dunk.
The Longhorns shot a strong 48.1% from the floor, in comparison to the Islanders’ 35.6%, and barely outscored them in three-point shooting, with Texas making six and the Islanders making four of both teams’ 18 attempts.
The Longhorns will next take on UNC-Greensboro on Dec. 29 at 7:00 p.m. at home for one of their last two non-conference games of the season.
