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 Eventually, reserve guard Kerwin Roach Jr. gave the No. 23 Longhorns
what they needed.
Roach scored all 15 of his points in the second half, including nine
in the final 4 1/2 minutes, lifting Texas past Oklahoma State 62-50
at Gallagher-Iba Arena in the regular-season finale for both teams.
In a game that featured nine lead changes and 13 ties, the Longhorns
rode Roach's hot hand late to separate from Oklahoma State.
"He did what he's been getting better and better at doing all year
long," Texas coach Shaka Smart said. "He hit a couple really, really
big outside shots for us. And he's really good at slashing and
making plays and finishing them off. And that was huge because we
had some guys who didn't particularly have their best offensive
game."
Texas (20-11, 11-7 Big 12) led 50-48 when Roach broke free for a
layup and a four-point lead -- matching its largest of the game. He
added a short jumper followed by a 3-pointer that served as a dagger
with 1:36 remaining, pushing the margin to 60-50.
"All I know is I had my team behind me," said Roach, who matched his
second-best scoring outing of the season. "My team was cheering me
on. It made me keep going. And I had Coach Smart saying, 'Go attack
them, go attack them.'
"So having that confidence from the coach, and him installing it to
me, just made me go. Just having a good day. That's what you call
having a good day."
Smart said more good games are coming from Roach, too.
"You're talking about a guy who has limitless potential," Smart
said. "He knows. We all know. He's still got a lot of progress to
make, that's the exciting thing. But nights like this are steps in
that direction. And he's been making steps all year.
"You're talking about someone who works every day after practice.
He's always watching tape, wanting to get better. And it paid off in
this game. And we needed it."
The Longhorns needed it with top scorer Isaiah Taylor making just 5
of 14 shots from the floor and the Texas starters combining for only
34 points.
Oklahoma State (12-19, 3-15) needed more as well, with forward
Leyton Hammonds scoring a game-high 20 points but no one else
providing much. Hammonds' nine field goals were more than the rest
of the Cowboys combined.
Oklahoma State is playing without its top two scorers, guards Jawun
Evans and Phil Forte, who were lost for the season to injury.
Others have been hampered, too, including Hammonds, who didn't play
in Wednesday night's loss at Iowa State while dealing with a
dislocated index finger on his shooting hand.
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"We're just challenged offensively to have a guy who can just make
that play for you," Cowboys coach Travis Ford said. "Whether it be
creating for somebody else, or knocking down that shot.
"It's a tough league to be challenged. But at no point in the last
six, seven games have we gone on an offensive spurt."
Instead, it has been a losing spurt for Oklahoma State, which had
its season-worst losing streak extended to six games.
Texas bounced back from a bad loss after being routed by Kansas
86-56 at home on Monday.
"The Kansas game, that wasn't Texas basketball," said center
Shaquille Cleare, who had eight points and eight rebounds off the
bench. "We were upset about it, but we couldn't stay bummed about it
because we knew we had to come here and play another good team.
"We watched film. We grew. We had two great days of practice and we
prepared for this game. We swallowed that one. It was a hard one to
swallow. But we refocused and came back and got this game."
The score was tied at 29 at the half.
Hammonds fueled the Cowboys, making 7 of 11 shots from the floor in
scoring 15 points. He started 4 of 4 with a 3-pointer, two days
after being unable to play at Iowa State because of the dislocated
finger suffered Saturday.
NOTES: Texas reached 20 wins for the 16th time in the last 17
seasons while coach Shaka Smart extended his streak to seven after
doing it for all six of his seasons at VCU. ... It was Senior Night
for Oklahoma State, with five seniors recognized in a ceremony
before the game: Jeff Newberry, Chris Olivier, Anthony Allen, Ford
Stuen and Codey McElroy. All five started. Only Newberry is a
regular starter. Stuen and McElroy are walk-ons. ... Jeffrey Carroll
(illness) also missed Oklahoma State's loss at Iowa State on
Wednesday but returned Friday.
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