Taylor drives Texas past Iowa State in overtime

By Steve Habel/Senior Editor

AUSTIN, Texas — Anyone who has watched the University of Texas men’s basketball team play over the past three years knows that sophomore point guard Isaiah Taylor is never shy about taking the ball to the rim. It is a practice that has worked out pretty well for him, and therefore for the Longhorns, but there also has been a flip side, like the time he broke his hand at the start of last season, and others when his teammates just stand around and watch him work.

Taylor drove the ball to the hole time and time again Tuesday against No. 17 Iowa State and got knocked down time and time again, fearlessly daring Iowa State to stop him. But the Cyclones weren’t up [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]to the task as Taylor scored 28 points, including five of Texas’ seven points in overtime, as the Longhorns outlasted Iowa State, 94-91, in a Big 12 matchup at the Frank Erwin Center.

Taylor hit a layup and a jumper and, ultimately, one of two free throws with 22 seconds remaining in the extra session to give Texas the cushion it needed. Iowa State guard Georges Niang had a chance to send the game to a second extra period but his three-pointer at the buzzer didn’t even draw iron.

“We just wanted to play as a team and stay connected,” Taylor said. “We knew this was a gut-check game and we had to make some plays down the stretch to win. We wanted to get lost in the game and give it all we had.”

It wasn’t Taylor’s best scoring game of the year — he scored 35 points Jan. 2 in an 82-74 loss at Texas Tech — but it might have been his most important performance of the year because it came after he had his worst game of the season Saturday in a 58-57 loss to TCU.

“I don’t know if Isaiah has an evil twin or what, but this is the Isaiah we need to see,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “This was vintage Isaiah — he stayed turned on. As our best player, he has to stay engaged all the time, and he did well with communicating and keeping everyone involved. He was motivated for tonight’s game and it showed.”

Texas (10-6 overall, 2-2 against Big 12 opponents) got 14 points apiece from guard-forward Tevin Mack and guard Eric Davis Jr. while guard Javan Felix added 13 points and forward Connor Lammert added 11.

The Cyclones (12-4 overall, 1-3 in Big 12 games) were led by Niang’s 27 points, while Monte Morris scored 17, guard Deonte Burton added 14, forward Jameel McKay scored 12 points, guard Matt Thomas had 11 points and forward Abdel Nader scored 10 points and pulled down 16 rebounds.

“We knew we weren’t going to get a ‘Hollywood movie’ three (at the end),” Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said, “but we got the ball in our best player’s hands and we had the chance to send the game to a second overtime. We are so spread out on defense that it gives the opposition too many driving lanes, and that’s hurting us.”

Seven players saw the court — and six scored in double figures — for Iowa State, which lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.

“We have to have amnesia about losing this game and move forward knowing that we are a good team and that we are playing in a very tough league,” Niang said. “We’ll keep fighting because we know we will get better and get some wins.”

Texas, in its fifth game without center Cameron Ridley, found its stride with the small-ball attack necessitated by Ridley’s foot injury. The Longhorns were able to use their quickness advantage to flash into the paint and built leads as large as the 13-point lead they held with 13:51 to play.

“We asked our guys to stop getting so bummed out on the floor, so we came up with the goal of being ‘turned on,’ and that seemed to five us a more positive attitude,” Smart said. “Iowa State made some shots and fought back, but I appreciate the way our guys responded. We had a good mix of defending their three-point shots and being more aggressive on offense.”

But Iowa State showed its determination down the stretch, and fought back to tie the game. Taylor and Lammert drained back-to-back three-pointers to give the Longhorns an 85-79 lead with 2:41 to play, but the Cyclones roared back, tying the game, 85-85, with two free throws and a jumper by Niang and a jumper by Morris.

Taylor hit a driving layup to give the Longhorns an 87-85 lead with 37 seconds to play before Niang canned a short contested jumper with nine seconds to play to even things up again. Taylor attacked a double-team for a final shot in regulation, but it bounced off the rim and the game went to overtime.

Texas played at a frantic pace in the first half, using a combination of driving moves to the basket and nine three-pointers to assume a 49-36 lead at halftime. The Longhorns shot 51. 4 percent from the floor and often took advantage of Iowa State’s misses from beyond the arc and the resulting long, caroming rebound to jumpstart their own attack.

Eight Texas players scored in the first 20 minutes, led by Taylor’s 14 points and 12 from Mack. Iowa State hit missed its final four three-point attempts after hitting five of its first six, and was led by forward McKay’s 10 points.

NOTES: Texas guard/forward Jordan Barnett informed the Longhorns’ coaching staff earlier Tuesday that he intends to transfer … Taylor became the 36th player in UT history to join the 1,000-point club during the Jan. 9 game at TCU.

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