Texas' Kerwin Roach With A Must Watch Dunk [VIDEO]
MARK ROSNER, Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Isaiah Taylor was scoreless in the first half and fearless in the second.
The Texas point guard scored all 21 of his points after intermission, including five in overtime, enabling the Longhorns to hold off Texas-Arlington 80-73 Tuesday night.
Denied access to the basket in the first half, Taylor aggressively worked his way to 17 free throws in the second half and overtime. He converted 13.
Taylor also made six assists in the game.
"He kind of got that look on his face like, 'all right, this is what I have to do,'" Texas coach Shaka Smart said. "He did a nice job of running the play, attacking, moving the ball."
Connor Lammert and Eric Davis made 3-point shots late in overtime to create separation. Taylor hit five free throws during the extra period.
Lammert made his trey, assisted by Taylor, with 1:12 remaining. Lammert then provided the assist for Davis' 3-pointer with 31 seconds left.
"Backbreakers," Texas-Arlington coach Scott Cross said.
Javan Felix scored 18 for Texas. He made four of the Longhorns' 11 3-point baskets — one more than Lammert.
Kevin Hervey led Texas-Arlington with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Drew Charles added 12 points.
Texas (3-3) missed two shots in the final 46 seconds of regulation, an open 3-pointer by Lammert and a driving attempt by Taylor.
In between those two efforts, Texas-Arlington (5-2) missed one, a layup by Erick Neal.
The Mavs made the game close with hustle, outscoring Texas 19-12 after turnovers and 21-15 in second-chance points. Texas-Arlington outrebounded Texas 46-33.
"Our guys played extremely hard," Cross said.
Texas-Arlington put together two long runs in the first half, 9-0 and 11-0, to take a 31-27 lead at the break. The Mavericks led by 10 after their second scoring streak.
Texas went scoreless for more than four minutes during the first Mavericks push. The Longhorns outdid themselves during the second Texas-Arlington run, failing to score for more than seven minutes.
A common denominator during both scoreless stretches was a sagging, aggressive Texas-Arlington defense that forced Texas to shoot from the perimeter. Fourteen of the Longhorns' 26 shots in the first half were 3-pointers. They converted just four.
Smart said the Longhorns were too tight in the first half.
"You can't play not to lose," Smart said. "We have to go out and play with an aggressive, confident, loose approach. If you lose, you don't die. You get to play another game."
That was essentially Smart's message at halftime.
"He said, go play," Taylor said. "Don't be hesitant. Just attack those dudes."
TIP-INS
Texas-Arlington: Sophomore center Kevin Hervey has scored in double-figures in all seven games this season, including a career-best 27 points in a win at Rice on Sunday. ... The Mavericks, picked to finish eighth in the 11-team Sun Belt Conference by the league's coaches, won games at Ohio State and Memphis in a span of four days.
Texas: Longhorn guard Kendal Yancy was cleared to play Tuesday after missing three straight games with a concussion. Yancy, a junior reserve, played in the second half and made a 3-point basket. ... The Longhorns are 11-0 in all-time against Texas-Arlington.
FLY-BY ATTACK
Texas ended an 11-0 run by Texas-Arlington in the first half when Kerwin Roach, a 6-foot-4 freshman guard made a soaring dunk over the 6-8 Jorge Bilbao. The Longhorns, including Smart, said that play provided a spark they needed.
"It really surprised me to make that play," Roach said. "I just wanted to provide energy. I felt like the team needed something."
UP NEXT
Texas-Arlington hosts North Texas on Thursday.
Texas hosts Samford on Friday.
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