No. 19 Texas men’s basketball’s home opener against Houston Christian University started with a similar theme as the last game: with a three-pointer from freshman guard Tre Johnson.
The Longhorns seemed determined to make up for their faults in their last game, holding strong on defense and finding the net more consistently across the court to dominate in a 90-59 win against the Huskies.
“We were able to get out and play to our strengths, which is again to get out, play fast in transition, put pressure on the basket and let our guys get a chance to play a little bit in open space,” head coach Rodney Terry said.
Within the first three minutes of the game, the Longhorns went three for three in triples, all scored by different players.
First was Johnson’s opening score, with a play that the team practices every day, followed by junior guard Chendall Weaver, both with assists from senior forward Arthur Kaluma.
“I knew once it came, I just got to make the shot,” Johnson said.
Weaver then paid Kaluma back, passing the ball at the right time to give the six-foot-seven forward a chance for three. When the ball hit the net, the crowd erupted, excited for the third straight three-pointer of the game.
Overall in the half, the team made six triples, only one more than Ohio State, to help give them a 42-35 lead.
It was in the second half that the Longhorns solidified their lead, wearing the Huskies down and limiting them to only 24 points.
“In the first half, I thought Texas was really looking at moving the ball side to side a bunch, which actually fits with how we guard,” HCU head coach Craig Doty said. “In the second half … They found the mismatch early inside.”
After opening a comfortable lead, Terry brought in some players for their season debut with graduate forward Cole Bott, redshirt sophomore forward Preston Clark and freshman forward Jamie Vinson, getting his first minutes as a Longhorn and scoring within seconds of getting subbed in.
“They challenge our front line guys every single day, and some days, they get the better of them to be honest,” Terry said. “With that work that they put in and how hard they’re working, (if) we can reward them with … an opportunity to be on the floor, then we definitely want to do that.”
Junior guard Jordan Pope, a starter for the Longhorns, struggled with foul play early in the game and played a limited three minutes in the first half, with no points. Pope came back into the game in the second half and found his pace, getting 11 points in his 18 minutes of playtime in the half, becoming the sixth player to reach double-digits in the final minutes.
The Longhorns will have four days to decompress and set their eyes on their next opponent as Texas hosts Chicago State Tuesday at Moody Center.
