Max Abmas poured in 16 points as No. 12 Texas got back on the winning track with a 77-50 victory over visiting Houston Christian on Saturday afternoon in Austin, Texas.
The Longhorns (7-2) never trailed but led by just a point before outscoring Houston Christian 19-0 over the final 11:57 of the first half, which proved to be the decisive stretch of the game. Abmas scored eight of his points in the final four minutes of the first half as part of the surge.
Texas outshot the visitors 46.4 percent to 30.3 percent, had a 20-4 edge in points off turnovers and a 48-30 advantage in points in the paint.
Kadin Shedrick added 15 points for Texas, Dillon Mitchell racked up 13 points and 12 rebounds and Tyrese Hunter scored 12 as the Longhorns bounced back after a 21-point loss to No. 8 Marquette on Wednesday. All nine of the players who saw the court for Texas scored.
Marcus Greene led Houston Christian (1-7) with 15 points while Michael Imariagbe added 11 points and 12 rebounds and Bonke Maring took 13 rebounds.
Four of the Huskies’ losses are against Big 12 Conference teams.
The Longhorns struggled early on, leading just 9-6 after a Hunter 3-pointer at the 16:20 mark of the first half. Another three, this one by Shedrick on the ensuing possession, pushed the Texas advantage to 12-6 but Houston Christian rallied to within a point when Maring canned a jumper at the 11:57 mark to close the gap to 18-17.
Texas then all but put the game on ice by reeling off the next 19 points as six different players scored. Abmas canned back-to-back 3-pointers to punctuate the surge and Mitchell and Abmas finished the stretch with layups and the Longhorns went to the break with a 37-17 lead.
Houston Christian went scoreless, missed its last 14 shots and shot just 20.7 percent from the floor in the half.
Abmas led all scorers before halftime with nine points while Mitchell added eight points and seven rebounds for Texas. Maring’s six points paced the Huskies’ first-half performance.
–Field Level Media