Men’s basketball rallies past Iowa State, 72-68

By Steve Habel
Senior Contributing Writer

AUSTIN, Texas — There have been plenty of times this season when the Texas men’s basketball team has failed, sometimes miserably, down the stretch, in the process turning potential wins into devastating losses.

But the Longhorns (14-7 overall, 4-4 in Big 12 play) flipped that script Saturday, saved their best for last to pull out a dramatic and uplifting win.

Guard Courtney Ramey scored [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]14 points, including a three-pointer with just over a minute remaining, to help Texas to a 72-68 win over visiting Iowa State.

The Cyclones (9-12, 2-6 in Big 12 play) came to town winless on the road but had the chance to rectify that, until the Longhorns pulled a role reversal and turned defeat into victory.

“We’ve had some other close games that we’ve not been able to grab hold of because we just didn’t make enough plays at the end of the game,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “Our guys showed really good resolve. You know down the stretch of the game, that’s what you have to do in these kind of games.”

The Cyclones led by a point at the half and by as many as eight on Tyrese Haliburton’s jumper with 12:45 to play. Texas pulled back to within 54-53 on two free throws by Donovan Williams with 7:32 remaining and again at 57-56 on a free throw by Jase Febres a minute and a half later.

Ramey’s three-pointer with 1:06 to play gave the Longhorns their first lead since late in the first half. “My teammates really just got to me and stayed in my ear, kept that confidence in me,” Ramey said afterward.

Iowa State’s Rasir Bolton then missed a layup and, after an offensive rebound, a follow-up shot with 44 seconds left.

“Saw the rim,” Bolton said about those two shots. “Just missed it.”

UT’s Kai Jones grabbed the rebound and was fouled and converted both free throws to push the Texas lead to 68-65. A turnover by the Cyclones’ Tre Jackson with 29 seconds left cost Iowa State a chance at a shot to tie the game.

Two free throws by Matt Coleman III and a dunk by Williams down the stretch finished off the Cyclones.

“We always say it’s a long game, you know — there’s a lot of twists and turns,” Smart explained. “Our guys really, you know, hung strong together and you could see the look on their face and those last couple media timeouts, that they were in a good place.”

Coleman and Jericho Sims also scored 14 points each for Texas, while Williams scores a career high-tying 13 points for the Longhorns.

“When you’re coming off the bench, you’re all in your head and worried about making mistakes and turnovers and all these all these different things,” Williams said. “But the more you play, the more you get into the flow of the game, the more you get into a rhythm.”

Haliburton and Bolton scored 14 points each to lead the Cyclones. Solomon Young added 13 points for Iowa State, which has lost three straight games and eight of its past 10 outings.

Texas shot 57 percent in the first half and led 21-13 on a Jones jumper with 10:52 to play in the half. But the Cyclones roared back, forging a 18-4 run capped by a Michael Jacobson jumper to sweep to the lead at 31-25 at the 3:12 mark.

The Longhorns, who suffered were without a point for more than five minutes, scored the half’s final four points to pull within 31-30 at intermission.

Haliburton led Iowa State with 9 points while Andrew Jones matched that output for Texas. The Longhorns had 11 turnovers over the first 20 minutes.

The Cyclones had every chance to win and probably should have, but could not seal the deal and then missed out when they got another chance.

“We missed some bunnies at the end that could have changed the outcome,” Iowa State coach Steve Frohm said. “Just wasn’t able to finish. The three-point line is what got us at the end. But that is a gut punch, because you go up by one there and you still don’t have to foul.”

Now comes the hard part for Texas: playing on the road Monday at No. 3 Kansas before hosting Texas Tech (a 78-75 loser Saturday against the Jayhawks) Feb. 8 and No. 1 Baylor Feb. 10.

“One game at a time,” Coleman said Saturday after the win. “One game at a time.”
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