Defense, Turner spur Horns to 56-41 win over Tech

By Steve Habel/Senior Editor

AUSTIN — Thirty-five seconds – the amount of time allotted to take a shot and at least hit the rim in college basketball – is a long time to play defense, even in the variety of zone defenses employed by the Texas men’s basketball team.

And Texas Tech is a team that uses as much of those 35 seconds as it can, both to mask its lack of offensive firepower and to lessen the opportunities for the opposition.

Something had to give when the two teams played Saturday night, and ultimately it was the Red Raiders.

Texas forced Tech into three shot-clock violations during a crucial stretch of the second half, it made a huge difference. The Longhorns rode their swarming defense and the sudden-reawakening of super freshman Myles Turner to a critical 56-41 win over Texas Tech before a crowd of 13,178 fans at the Frank Erwin Center.

Turner scored 25 points, his most since[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] scoring 25 points against Lipscomb Dec. 16 and his third 20-plus-points game of the season. He also took a game-and career-high 12 rebounds, 10 of them on the defensive end, and had three of the team’s five blocked shots.

“I was confident tonight, and I just put everything aside and did what I do best,” Turner said. “I need to stick to my routine. Not many players in this league are 6-foot-11, and I have to keep the ball up high. Coach Barnes and I have had several long talks about what I need to do, and I’m doing it.”

The other eight Longhorns’ who played scored a combined 31 points, led by six points each by Javan Felix and Connor Lammert.

“Turner is putting so much pressure on himself,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “Myles may be the best player in the country from 12 feet and in, and he showed it today. The high catch-and-shoot jump shot is his best play, and we want teams to try to take that away from him. I hope this is a confidence booster for him.”

“Turner is talented and very smart,” Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith said. “He plays with emotion but he’s not emotional. It’s hard to contest his shot. I’m very impressed with Texas. They are playing extremely well right now.”

The win pushed the Longhorns to 6-6 in Big 12 play with six games to play, three of those at home. Five of the six games are against teams above Texas in the league standings.

“Our defense was good and we knew this was the time of game we would get with Tech,” Barnes said. “We have answers and we know we can play a lot of different ways. We have to continue to get better.”

Texas (17-8 overall) struggled with Tech through most of the first half but led 29-19 at intermission. That lead was secured only after Felix hit consecutive 3-pointers and Jonathan Holmes added another at the buzzer as part of an 11-0 Longhorns run to end the half.

Turner had nine points and grabbed seven rebounds in the half and was the focal point of the Longhorns’ offense, both inside and out. He added Texas’ first six points of the second half by at the 14:27 mark, Tech managed to cut the Longhorns’ lead to 35-31, setting the stage for a furious finish that was dominated by the Texas.

Texas returns to action Tuesday night at Oklahoma in another in a series of crucial games for the Longhorns. OU manhandled the Longhorns 70-49 on Jan. 5 in Austin and would like nothing better that to sweep the season series.

“We have a long ways to go, but it seems like we are picking up some speed and are getting some of the right guys hot right now,” Holmes said.

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