MANHATTAN, Kan. – Texas knocked down 14 3-pointers, including 9 in the second half, as the Longhorns snapped a 4-game losing streak to Kansas State with a 67-47 victory in the Big 12 opener for both teams at Bramlage Coliseum on Wednesday night.
The 14 3-point field goals tied for the third-most by a Wildcat opponent and the most since Nebraska also canned 14 treys on Feb. 17, 2010. K-State entered the game 13thnationally in 3-point field goal percentage defense.
Overall, Texas (9-4, 1-0) Big 12 connected on 47.9 percent (23-of-48) from the field, including a K-State opponent-best 60.9 percent (14-of-23) in the second half. The Longhorns hit on 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from 3-point range, including an astounding 81.8 percent (9-of-11) after halftime.
K-State (10-3, 0-1 Big 12) was held to just 47 points on 32.7 percent (17-of-52) shooting, including 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from 3-point range, and 50.0 percent (7-of-14) from the free throw line. Junior Makol Mawien was the lone Wildcat in double figures with 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting, while junior Xavier Sneed added 9 points.
The Wildcats were without senior Dean Wade for the fourth consecutive game, while fellow senior Kamau Stokes also missed tonight’s game due to injury. Starting in Stokes’ absence, sophomore Mike McGuirl registered his first career start and a career-high 3 steals and 5 points. Freshman guard Shaun Neal-Williams also registered a career-high, scoring 6 points in 20 minutes of play.
Texas was led by a career-high 23 points from sophomore guard Jase Febres, who led the charge from beyond the arc by shooting 7-of-9 on the day. The 14 Texas 3-pointers are the second most by the Longhorns this season, after connecting on 16 against Grand Canyon on December 15.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In Stokes’ absence, McGuirl made an early impact in his first start for the Wildcats, swiping 2 steals in the early minutes, including his second steal that resulted in two fast-break points, as Texas led in the first 3:06 of play, 5-4.
After the first media timeout at the 16:59 mark, the Wildcats claimed their first lead of the game after a Sneed 3-pointer and layup in transition by Neal-Wiliams off a steal from McGuirl, as K-State led 9-7 with 12:59 left.
In the first 10 minutes of play, both teams relied on 3-point shooting as Texas connected on 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, while K-State hit 2-of-3, as the Longhorns led 16-14 at the 10-minute mark.
Despite the sharpshooting from beyond the arc, both teams struggled to score over the next four minutes, as the Wildcats would miss on their next 8 shots, until Sneed pulled up from beyond the 3-point line to bring the deficit to 21-17 with 5:17 remaining in the first half.
Just before the half with the shot-clock winding down, redshirt sophomore guard Cartier Diarra was able to force a turnover that led to his dunk in transition, to bring K-State to within 3, down 25-22 at halftime. K-State shot 30 percent (9-of-30) from the field and 40 percent (4-of-10) from three in the first half, while forcing 8 turnovers that resulted in 14 K-State points.
At the 18:54 mark of the second half, senior guard Barry Brown, Jr., tied the game up at 25 a-piece, registering his first points of the game on a 3-pointer in front of a Texas defender. Prior to the 3-pointer, Brown was 0-4 from the field in the first half.
At the 10:02 mark of the second half, the Longhorns claimed a 5-point lead after scoring on consecutive 3-pointers at 40-35.
Trailing by 8 with under seven minutes remaining, Sneed went back to the 3-pointer for the Wildcats, connecting on a shot from behind the arc to bring the score to 47-41 with 6:35 left in the game.
After the Sneed 3-pointer, the Longhorns went on a 13-1 run to extend the lead to 16 points, as they led at 60-42 with 2:44 remaining.
Texas ended the game by making 6 of its last 7 shots, 5 of which were from beyond the arc. As a team, Texas shot 51.8 percent (14-of-27) from three, as they fell in their conference-opener to Texas, 67-47.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Makol Mawien – Registered a team-high 13 points on 5-of-13 from the field, as the junior forward reached his 15thcareer double-digit scoring performance and fifth of the season. Mawien also added 5 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal.
STAT OF THE GAME
14 – The Longhorns capitalized on their shooting from the 3-point line on Wednesday night, tying the third most 3-pointers allowed by K-State in a game (14). The Longhorns connected on 9 consecutive 3-pointers in the second half, as they shot 9-of-11 in the half to distance themselves from the Wildcats.
