Texas didn’t have to worry about a letdown in its first trip down to the Rio Grande Valley.
The fourth-ranked Longhorns stormed out to a huge lead over Northern Arizona before easing up and cruising to a 73-48 win in the second game of the Leon Black Classic on Monday night at Edinburgh’s Bert Ogden Arena . UTRGV defeated Western Illinois on a last-second layup in Game 1.
Propelled by a 29-7 run that lasted for more than 10 minutes in the first half, the Longhorns (4-0) looked every bit as dominant against the Lumberjacks as they did in last week’s blowout win over then-No. 2 Gonzaga at the Moody Center. Fifth-year senior guard Marcus Carr was cooking early on and finished with a game-high 17 points on 54 percent shooting with four assists and three steals.
“The team is moving in the right direction,” senior wing Brock Cunningham said during a post-game interview on the Longhorn Radio Network. “And the progress is in part due to how we bonded off the court. This team’s the tightest group I’ve been with at Texas so far. It’s been a lot of fun to play with and that’s why we’re meshing so well.”
Texas forced 14 turnovers in the first half and limited Northern Arizona to seven field goals. Carr and sophomore guard Tyrese Hunter provided a spark in transition off those live-ball turnovers, with Texas generating a 23-7 advantage in fastbreak points over the first 20 minutes.
Hunter finished with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting and added three assists against one turnover. Freshman guard Arterio Morris (11 points) and senior forward Dylan Disu (10) also scored in double figures.
The Longhorns didn’t carry that same two-way intensity into the second half. The Lumberjacks surprisingly outscored Texas 26-23 as the Longhorns hit just 7 of 24 shots and 1 of 12 from 3-point range.
“We played really well in the first half,” Beard said. “And the second half, it was not our better 20 minutes. But give Northern Arizona a lot of credit. And I was really impressed with Northern Arizona how they kept chipping away and basically played real basketball the last 20 minutes. So lots to learn from for our guys. And we’ll embrace that.”
Beard said he was thrilled with the turnout and crowd reactions to several of the team’s explosive in-game dunks, including a late swipe-and-slam by freshman forward Alex Anamekwe. Afterwards, Texas freshman Dillon Mitchell (seven points, five rebounds) grabbed a microphone to thank the fans who stayed through the finish of Texas’ first game in Edinburgh.
“But as important as winning the game tonight was bringing Texas and our brand and our program down to the Valley, and I thought that was awesome,” Beard said. “So appreciate the fans staying the whole game and getting loud late in the night when Alex made that great dunk.”
The Leon Black Classic will conclude Saturday afternoon when Texas plays UTRGV (3-2) in its only game this season at the Gregory Gymnasium. In operation since 1930, the gym served as the home of Texas men’s basketball until 1977.
“The game in Gregory Gym is something we’re really proud of,” Beard said. “We’re looking forward to Saturday.”
