Texas junior forward Dailyn Swain and sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis, two of the Longhorns’ consistent point scorers throughout the season, both drew a pair of early fouls before the first media timeout of the game.
With Vokietaitis and Swain limited in their roles for large swaths of the afternoon, it was up to the “old guys” — graduate guard Tramon Mark, senior guard Jordan Pope and senior forward Chendall Weaver, veterans of the Texas program, to carry the flame for quite possibly each of their final times playing in the Lone Star Showdown.
As the only key returners from last year’s squad, Mark, Pope and Weaver were able to trade the favor in College Station, surviving another close game with the Texas A&M Aggies, 76-70, at Reed Arena on Saturday afternoon.
“The 23 points from Tramon (Mark), about Jordan Pope being a steadying force from start to finish and then just overall that was one of our best defensive performances of the season,” head coach Sean Miller said. “We were on it.”
The Longhorns’ primary offensive threats both picking up early fouls inside the game’s first five minutes, was not an ideal situation for Miller’s attack. Vokietaitis drew his two just a minute into the game before quickly being moved to the bench.
Swain and Vokietaitis only played 11 and nine minutes in the first half, respectively, giving Texas A&M a real shot to gain a large lead before Miller would put the duo back in.
The Aggies did not relinquish their opportunity in the first half, jumping up to a one-point lead at halftime.
“We had to play through some crazy fouls in the first half,” Miller said. “Credit our team from being able to get to halftime without playing really (Swain) or (Vokietaitis like we usually do. That’s not easy, especially on the road.”
Although the Longhorns had a rough showing in the field in the first half, so did the Aggies, with both teams shooting below 35.0. Mark had a limited role in the first 20 minutes, scoring just six points, but took control of the game in crunch time.
Swain and Vokietaitis accrued the majority of their minutes in the second half and, after managing to stay away from fouling, suddenly picked up another pair with a thin lead and under seven minutes to play.
In need of some magic to keep without two of their biggest contributors on the floor, the Longhorns were able to toss around the ball efficiently, putting the Aggies on skates defensively. Mark, carrying the ball up the court at the beginning of a play, found it headed back in his direction at the corner, giving an opportunity for an uncontested three-pointer to give Texas enough cushion late in the game.
“We just played super hard and I knew we were going to come out and play super hard,” Mark said.
Weaver tattooed a driving layup off the glass to put Texas up, 65-58, and down the stretch, it was Mark and Pope accounting for all of the Longhorns’ scoring in the final four minutes of the game.
Mark led the team with 23 points, 17 coming in the second half. Pope, who played nearly the entire game with 39 minutes, was able to keep pace with timely shots and ended with 17 points.
“After a hard loss to Florida, we felt like we let them out of our hands. So I’m just proud that we’re able to bounce back in an environment like this, a rivalry,” Pope said. “It’s always good to win those.”
The Longhorns will stay on the road to face No. 20 Arkansas on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
