By Steve Habel/Senior Editor
AUSTIN, Texas — Freshman Mohamed Bamba has been a force in the paint for Texas this season but he also was great from everywhere else Monday as Texas rolled to a 73-57 win over Iowa State in a crucial Big 12 Conference contest at the Frank Erwin Center.
Bamba scored a career-high 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including 2-for-2 from three-point range, and connected on all four attempts from the free throw line. He also pulled down 12 rebounds for good measure to garner his ninth double-double of the season.
“My goal is to keep coming at them,” Bamba said. “Coming off the game [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]we played last Saturday [a 86-51 loss at West Virginia], we were going to take it out on someone, and tonight it was Iowa State that was in our way.”
Opponents are discovering that they are in plenty of peril if they find themselves in Bamba’s path. Every Texas game plan starts with plays that run through Bamba, and just about every opponent’s offensive strategy has to take the condor-like forward and his eight-foot wingspan into consideration.
“We are going to keep the same fight every game. The next step is to win a couple of these in a row,” Bamba said. “We are putting in the right deposits in practice and want to reap those benefits in the game.”
Texas (13-7 overall, 4-4 in Big 12 play) has neither won nor lost consecutive games over its past nine contests since capturing three straight outings Dec. 16, 18 and 22.
The Cyclones had won two of their past three games, including a victory Saturday in Ames over No. 8 Texas Tech, but never made a serious run Monday after falling behind the Longhorns, 20-9, midway through the first half.
Kerwin Roach II added 22 points for Texas, while Eric Davis Jr. scored 11 and Dylan Osetkowski hit for 10. The Longhorns owned a 16-5 advantage in second-chance points, a 17-9 edge in bench scoring and a 30-20 bulge in points in the paint.
“Our guys did a good job of fighting tonight and playing hard,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “We talked about getting off to a quick start, especially on defense, because if Iowa State’s guards get going they get really tough.
“We made our focus all about tonight and put the West Virginia game behind us. We have nine days now where we get a break from the league, and getting a little bit of rest for our guys will be important.”
Nick Weiler-Babb and Lindell Wigginton scored 15 points each to lead Iowa State (11-8 overall, 2-6 in Big 12 play). Cameron Lard added 12 for the Cyclones while Donovan Jackson scored just six points, 10 below his scoring average for the season.
“I expected Texas to play with great resolve and purpose because you have the forget the last game and move on to the next one in this league,” Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said.
“We put ourselves in a position to get back in the game and just didn’t get it done. We tried to go small the last couple of minutes and try to cause some problems for them and we didn’t make a lot happen. It’s hard to win when you shoot 38 percent on the road.”
Texas ruled the first half, roaring out of the gate and building as much as a 15-point lead before settling for a 38-29 advantage at halftime.
Bamba and Roach paced the Longhorns in the half, scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively.
“I just wanted to do whatever I could to help the team win, and I had the hot hand in the first half,” Roach said. “We have a theme: ‘don’t get too high, don’t get too low.’ We just want to play our game and listen to our coach and get better every day.”
The Cyclones cut the lead to 49-43 on a three-pointer by Weiler-Babb with 12:56 to play but Texas answered emphatically by scoring the next seven points on a dunk by Roach, a three-pointer by Bamba and a bucket by Eric Davis Jr.
“It’s obvious that at times we are not on the same page, and that seems to be magnified some on the road,” Weiler-Babb said.
Next up for Texas is Saturday’s home game against Ole Miss, continuing UT’s draw in the Big 12-SEC Challenge.
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