In the last five minutes of the UKG Legends Classic game against Saint Joseph’s, it seemed as though Texas men’s basketball flipped a switch. 

At a glance, the final score may make the game seem more like the Longhorns had a decisive lead against the Hawks throughout the game. With a 67-58 win, Texas captured its first regular season neutral site multi-team event title since 2020 and its first Legends Classic title since 2007. 

However, the score went back and forth between the teams throughout the game with neither taking a clear lead. 

The ball didn’t want to go into the net for either team. Texas made 24 of 55 field goal attempts, while Saint Joseph’s made 21 field goals of 66 attempts. 

While both teams struggled to get points on the board, Texas had long scoring droughts and couldn’t get offensive rebounds to keep possession of the ball. 

But in those last five minutes, the momentum shifted quickly, starting with an offensive rebound by graduate forward Kadin Shedrick. The Longhorns scored 16 points in the last five minutes, almost half of the total points scored in the second half.

After a missed layup by freshman guard Tre Johnson, Shedrick lept up and tipped the ball into the net. Standing 6-foot-11 inches, Shedrick got the ball into the net two more times in the last five minutes, scoring 10 points total in the game. Johnson also stepped up in the last few minutes, getting a layup after two completed free throws. 

With the clock ticking down and the Longhorn’s momentum seemingly growing as its lead increased, the Hawks began to get a little scrappy. The team put graduate guard Julian Larry and senior forward Arthur Kaluma on the free-throw line in the last minute of the game. 

The Longhorns had a late run in the first half as well, although not as extreme. When the Hawks began to pull ahead of the Longhorns with five minutes left in the half, the Longhorns responded with a six-point scoring run off of two three-point shots.

The first shot came from junior guard Jordan Pope, who stole the ball from the Hawks and made a stepback three-pointer. Almost exactly a minute later, Kaluma stole the ball and passed it up the court to Johnson. 

Johnson, on the fast break off the turnover, took his shot from the three-point line. The ball went in easily, bringing the score to 32-26. 

The Longhorns will travel back to Austin to play Delaware State on Friday at 8 p.m. at home.