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Texas basketball team gets second straight Big 12 win in rout of Oklahoma State

thomas jones, austin american-statesman
·2 min read
Texas guard Max Abmas and Oklahoma State guard John-Michael Wright battle for a loose ball during the Longhorns' 81-65 win Saturday at Moody Center. UT used a 14-0 spurt midway through the second half to pull away.
Texas guard Max Abmas and Oklahoma State guard John-Michael Wright battle for a loose ball during the Longhorns' 81-65 win Saturday at Moody Center. UT used a 14-0 spurt midway through the second half to pull away.

Any concerns about a letdown after an emotional victory over Texas Tech dissipated during a decisive second-half run by Texas in Saturday’s win over Oklahoma State at Moody Center.

The Longhorns (19-10, 8-8 Big 12) reeled off a 14-0 run midway through the second half and cruised to an 81-65 win to give them two consecutive victories in Big 12 play for the first time this season. Sure, the triumph came against last-place Oklahoma State (12-17, 4-12), but any victory in the nation’s highest-rated conference counts as a big achievement, especially for a team that remains close to the bubble for the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.

"I think we answered the bell again today," Texas coach Rodney Terry said. "We came back (from Lubbock) Thursday and had another really physical, competitive practice. It showed today."

Graduate forward Dylan Disu, who led Texas with 17 points, credited his team's defense for that second-half run as well as UT's third win in the past four games.

"We feel like we're starting to figure out what we have to do on the defensive end of the floor in order to have success in the game overall," he said. "We've stepped our game on defense, and that's led to success."

After the scrappy Cowboys tied it at 52-52 with a jumper by Javon Small, Texas seized control. By the time Oklahoma State scored again with 8 minutes, 49 seconds left in the game, Texas held a 66-54 lead and was close to planning for Monday’s rugged road trip to Baylor.

More: Texas basketball pounded Texas Tech in an emotional win. Here are three things we saw.

Four days after scoring a season-high 15 points against Texas Tech, reserve guard Chendall Weaver topped that mark with 16 points to go along with four rebounds. He reached the milestone in style, too, with several highlight-reel dunks down the stretch.

Fresh off his latest performance as Lubbock’s most wanted, Texas forward Brock Cunningham tallied eight points and seven rebounds, including five points and two offensive rebounds during that key Texas run. Max Abmas added 16 points.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball team gets 2nd straight Big 12 win over Oklahoma State