Max Abmas poured in 18 points and Kadin Shedrick added 17 as No. 20 Texas pulled away early in the second half on the way to a 79-62 win over Texas-Arlington on Monday afternoon in Austin, Texas, to remain undefeated at home.
The Longhorns (11-2) led 39-32 at halftime and then shrugged off a rally by Texas-Arlington early in the second half before pushing their advantage to 62-46 after a pair of Abmas free throws with 10:27 to play.
A 3-pointer by Brock Cunningham on Texas’ next possession expanded the margin to 19 points and the Mavericks never got closer than 14 the rest of the way.
Ithiel Horton added 13 points and a season-high 10 rebounds and Cunningham had 11 rebounds for the Longhorns, who begin Big 12 Conference play at home against Texas Tech on Saturday.
Texas played without defensive stalwart Tyrese Hunter (illness), who was ruled out just prior to tipoff.
Kade Douglas led the Mavericks (6-7) with 17 points while Makaih Williams added 12 and Phillip Russell had 11. Texas-Arlington made more 3-pointers (12) than two-point baskets (11) and shot just 37.7 percent from the floor.
The Longhorns jumped to a 5-0 lead two and a half minutes into the game and Texas-Arlington fought back, with a jumper by Aaron Cash at the 9:50 mark bringing the Mavericks to within 19-17.
Texas answered with a 10-0 surge as Shedrick had four points and Horton capped the run with a 3-pointer with 7:01 to play in the half.
The Mavericks responded, moving back to within a bucket when Shemar Wilson made a layup with 3:54 remaining. A dunk by Dylan Disu and a pair of free throws by Abmas, the latter with two seconds to go, granted Texas a 39-32 edge at the break.
Disu led the Longhorns with nine points before halftime, with Abmas and Shedrick adding eight points apiece as Texas outshot the Mavericks 46.9 percent to 37.5 percent over the first 20 minutes. Douglas and Russell had nine points apiece in the half to lead Texas-Arlington.
Texas-Arlington cut its deficit to point via 3-pointers by Douglas and Russell to open the second half before the Longhorns reeled off a 10-0 run culminating with a layup by Abmas to re-establish their double-digit lead.
–Field Level Media
