Hook’em Horns

A.J. Abrams and the Longhorns protected their home court.

(Monday, February 11th) Final Score: (11) Texas 72, (3) Kansas 69

Austin, TX  - A.J. Abrams had 14 points, including a pair of key free throws down the stretch, to help 11th-ranked Texas knock off No. 3 Kansas, 72-69, in a battle of Big 12 powerhouses at Erwin Center.

Connor Atchley had 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting - 4-for-4 from three-point range - and Damion James rode a monster second half to a 14-point, 13-rebound night as the Longhorns (20-4, 7-2 Big 12) held off a late Kansas surge in the first matchup between the conference rivals since KU’s 88-84 victory in last March’s Big 12 Tournament championship game.

Darrell Arthur led the Jayhawks (23-2, 8-2) with 22 points and six rebounds, while Mario Chalmers and Darnell Jackson dropped 13 apiece. Kansas shot just 10-for-25 in the second half, though, and fell for the second time in the past five games following a 20-0 start to the season.

KU stormed back from a seven-point deficit to pull within three with under four minutes to go on a Chalmers tear drop in the lane. James followed a D.J. Augustin miss at the other end with a putback slam, but Arthur answered with a bucket off a nice dish inside from Sasha Kaun to make it 66-63.

Augustin and Chalmers traded free throws, and after both Augustin and Abrams airballed jumpers for a shot clock violation, Kansas had a chance to pull within one or tie with just over a minute remaining.

But Brandon Rush’s three from the corner was partially blocked, and with 40.5 seconds left James was fouled on the floor. The sophomore forward hit both free throws for a 69-64 Texas lead, before Chalmers responded with a cold- blooded three from the top of the key just eight seconds later, bringing the Jayhawks back within two.

Augustin was nearly stripped in the backcourt on the ensuing possession, but ultimately got the ball to Atchley, who found Abrams, forcing KU to foul the best free-throw shooter on the floor. Abrams bagged both from the line to make it 71-67 with 21.9 ticks on the clock, a two-possession game.

Chalmers hoisted another deep three that didn’t even catch rim, but the officials ruled the ball was tipped by a Longhorns player, and Kansas retained possession with 12.4 seconds left. Russell Robinson quickly inbounded from underneath the basket for Arthur, whose layup again made it a two-point game.

Augustin, fouled with eight seconds to go, left the door open by missing the second of two free throws, but Robinson bobbled on his way upcourt and Chalmers’ hurried three-ball was the look KU had to settle for to tie.

The shot clanged off the back iron, and Texas escaped with its fourth straight victory.

“When you’re behind and when it’s a close game, it feels the same because you get lost in the game and just try to take care of the details,” Abrams said. “Sometimes you get behind and have to fight back, but fortunately today we shot the ball well in the first half and hung with them.”

Augustin finished with 10 points and five assists despite struggling to a 1- for-13 shooting night, while Justin Mason had nine and eight rebounds. James had just two points and was without a rebound at halftime, but came up with 12 and 13 in the final 20 minutes.

Rush scored 10 for the Jayhawks, but two key guards, Robinson and Sherron Collins, were limited to five total points on a combined 2-for-12 shooting.

“I think that Atchley percentage-wise is the best shooter in our league,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said afterward. “It surprises anybody when someone goes four-for-four for threes, because not even guards do that all the time, but Atchley is a good shooter. Damion James had a chance to sit on the bench in the first half to boil a little bit, because he wants to be out there, and he came out and just kicked our butt in the second half.”

Texas had a 20-16 edge through a frenetically paced opening seven minutes thanks to an Atchley three, but KU recovered to tie the game at 26 by the nine-minute mark on an Arthur jumper.

Rush’s putback in transition gave the Jayhawks their first lead, 33-31, inside six minutes. Arthur converted a tough bucket in the lane to make it 41-36 with just under two minutes remaining, and Kansas led 42-38 at the break.

Texas reclaimed the lead at 50-48 on an Atchley three less than four minutes into the second half, and the advantage see-sawed for the next six minutes.

Collins gave KU a 57-54 edge when he sliced inside for his first bucket with 9:49 remaining. But the Jayhawks went over four minutes without scoring again, and when Augustin finally dropped home his first hoop of the night, the Longhorns were up 62-57 with 5:36 to go.

Less than a minute later, Mason swooped in for a follow that pushed the UT lead to seven.

Game Notes

Texas shot 22-for-54 (41 percent) on the night, including 8-for-20 from three- point range; it hit 20-of-28 (71 percent) free throws…Kansas scored 36 points in the paint to Texas’ 20, but was just 4-for-17 from beyond the arc…KU remains one win shy of becoming the first Big 12 school to record a winning conference record in each of the league’s first 12 seasons…Texas freshman forward Gary Johnson suffered an apparent broken nose late in the first half, but did return for a stint in the second, and finished with seven points and three boards.

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