It may have been freezing outside the Moody Center, but Texas men’s basketball was just starting to heat up.
In a physical battle against No. 22 Missouri, Texas took its second Southeastern Conference win by force with a texas-secures-its-first-sec-home-win-in-61-53-slugfest-over-no-22-missouri/” title=”Texas secures its first SEC home win in 61-53 slugfest over No. 22 Missouri”>61-53 win, beating Missouri for the first time since 2011.
“They came out in the second half with a great surge and our guys didn’t flinch and made the longhorns-while-he-can/” title=”Texas' Jahdae Barron is trying to enjoy the moments with the Longhorns while he can”>stops,” head coach Rodney Terry said. “We were able to get to the final line.”
Students filled the stands after trekking through the cold to watch the Longhorns put the Tigers in a position they were not very familiar with this season. For the first time in four games, the Tigers trailed by the end of the half.
The Longhorn defense was the key, matching the Tiger’s physicality on the court. Both teams were fighting hard, with the Tigers ending up with 26 personal fouls and the Longhorns with 18.
“Every game in this league you have to put your hard hat on,” Terry said. “The real game starts with the shots taken, you have to be able to be physical.”
Texas kept a team that normally makes more than eight three-pointers in a game to only one by the end of the first and four by the end of the game, getting hands in the air and preventing easy shots. Missouri, in turn, did the same, keeping Texas to four triples.
The Tigers climbed their way back up the scoreboard to take a one-possession lead in the second half, but when graduate forward Kadin Shedrick got dunked on, it seemed to light a fire in him. Later, Shedrick powered his way to the net, pushing against Missouri to put Texas back in the lead for the first time in the second half, 51-50.
Graduate guard Julian Larry also began to step into his role on the court, making key defensive stops for the Longhorns. Larry stole the ball from the Tigers and got it to senior forward Arthur Kaluma, who drew the foul.
When Kaluma missed his second free throw, Shedrick was ready.
He jumped on top of the ball, landing on the floor. After winning the jump ball, Shedrick drew the foul and made both of his free throws.
“We stayed poised the whole game and without panicking we were able to win the game,” Shedrick said.
Texas did well in cleaning the offensive glass, getting 14 offensive rebounds. As the Longhorn leader in rebounds, Kaluma was responsible for six of them.
Texas looks to continue its success at home, getting a rematch against rivals No. 13 Texas A&M on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 1:30 p.m.
