NCAAB Game Recap - McNeese State at Texas
Sat Nov 30, 2019 2:00 PM EST

Tenn
72
VCU
69
F
Sac
45
Colora
59
F
Lipsco
62
Xav
87
F
Amer
64
Albany
68
F
ChiSt
54
ASU
67
F
MorSt
57
N AL
67
F
Merrim
63
StJon
86
F
StFNY
59
StPet
67
F
Detr
81
Ohio
91
F
Drex
60
UMBC
85
F
JSU
60
Chat
63
F
(N/A)
70
MsVl
124
F
SDak
72
NoAZ
76
F
UNCG
65
GTown
61
F
McNee
71
Tex
73
F
JU
61
NCAT
45
F
MOStL
55
IndSt
62
F
Sien
62
Colg
72
F
W&M
77
Buff
88
F
Princ
87
Buck
77
F
BC
44
Rich
64
F
MTTec
63
BYU
98
F
(N/A)
53
Troy
104
F
(N/A)
51
SHSU
86
F
ETSU
67
ArkLR
63
F
TocF
59
Presb
87
F
Denv
51
SEMO
66
F
USC-Up
47
UNCC
83
F
Stetsn
53
Kent
77
F
ECU
89
JMU
99
F
SDSt
50
Ind
64
F
MtStM
73
How
56
F
Leh
64
Colum
68
F
Navy
76
Brown
56
F
Dart
69
BGSU
76
F
UND
80
GaSo
68
F
YSU
72
CenMI
88
F
SFA
76
ArkSt
57
F
NoKY
60
Ark
66
F
Hartfo
55
TxSt
69
F
Fres
72
CSNor
73
F
CoCar
92
DelSt
77
F
RobM
59
Clev
70
F
CS-Ful
55
SCla
70
F
(N/A)
62
NOrl
79
F
FSU
63
Purd
60
F(OT)
Campbl
51
FlGlf
46
F
Evans
70
IUPUI
64
F
Oakl
63
Toled
65
F
StFPA
79
StJos
63
F
Army
66
Maris
64
F(OT)
UNH
69
FIU
70
F
UNLV
65
Cin
72
F(OT)
PVAM
79
UTSA
72
F
WIGB
98
MTSt
72
F
IPFW
71
GrCan
60
F
Tuls
67
Vand
58
F
TXAMC
55
UTRGV
52
F
Lamar
73
TXSo
76
F
W IL
67
UMKC
68
F
Belm
71
MTSU
59
F
Samf
57
LaTec
78
F
SDCh
59
CSBak
87
F
Ida
55
Seatt
74
F
E MI
56
UCIrv
77
F

Nov 30, 2019, 2:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

T

McNeese State

34

37

71

Texas

37

36

73

Ramey free throws enable Texas to escape upset
Sat Nov 30, 2019 5:58 PM

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) One year ago to the day, Radford pulled an upset on the road against the 17th-ranked team in the country.

On Saturday, McNeese State nearly marked the anniversary with a victory against the same team.

This time, unranked Texas survived.

Courtney Ramey made two free throws with 8.4 seconds left, enabling the Longhorns to escape with a 73-71 victory on Saturday.

McNeese's Leondre Washington missed a 3-point attempt at an upset with three seconds remaining.

Texas guard Courtney Ramey said coach Shaka Smart did not forget the anniversary of the 62-59 defeat.

"Coach brought it up," Ramey said.

Smart said he spoke to Matt Coleman, the sophomore point guard who had a season-best 10 assists against McNeese.

"Didn't make a huge deal out of Radford last year," Smart said. "Matt and I talked about it from a leadership standpoint. I thought in that game we didn't have the leadership we needed to have to bring the guys together and bring the game home. We did a better job today."

Ramey and Andrew Jones led Texas (6-1) with 14 points apiece. Each made a 3-point basket during the final 3:19, as did Jase Febres.

Jericho Sims had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Longhorns.

McNeese (2-6) forward Sha'Markus Kennedy punished Texas inside with a game-high 22 points. Washington scored 17. Dru Kuxhausen scored 12, hitting 4 of 6 3-pointers, but he missed a driving shot with nine seconds left and then fouled Ramey.

Washington's 3-pointer with 1:33 left gave McNeese a 69-68 lead. Jones put Texas back ahead with a 3-pointer, but Kennedy tied it with 56 seconds remaining.

Texas hit 3 of 14 3-pointers in the first half but improved to 6 of 17 in the second.

The Longhorns had an 18-5 edge in offensive rebounding - including six by Sims -- turning them into 14 second-chance points.

"I thought the difference in the game was the offensive glass," McNeese coach Heath Schroyer said. "They just ate us up."

BIG PICTURE

Texas: The Longhorns' 30.8 percent 3-point accuracy before facing McNeese ranked eighth in the 10-team Big 12 Conference. They hit 29 percent against McNeese. Even with the late, clutch, 3-pointers, Febres and Jones combined to make only 5 of 20.

"As a shooter you gotta keep shooting," Ramey said. "Take Andrew and Jase. They missed a couple but they kept shooting and made a couple big ones late in the game."

Said Smart, "If they are not going in, find a way to get to the foul line. That's probably the biggest thing for us. We're not getting to the foul line enough."

Indeed, before Saturday, Texas was tied with TCU for fewest free throws attempted by a Big 12 team with 71.

McNeese: The Cowboys, picked to finish seventh in the 13-team Southland Conference, completed a tough stretch during which they lost to Wisconsin, New Mexico and Richmond, the latter by 30 points. But they were ready for Texas, scoring inside and from 3-point range, a strength for McNeese this season. The Cowboys shot 52% overall - making three dunks during a four-possession span late in the first half -- and converted 8 of 16 3-pointers. They never trailed by more than six.

"I thought we played extremely well," Schroyer said.

THE LITTLE GUYS

McNeese played without fear, especially after Stephen F. Austin, a fellow member of the Southland, won at No. 1 Duke earlier in the week.

"So much parity in college basketball," Schroyer said. "There are players everywhere. It's just about getting them and developing them."

SKY KAI

Kai Jones, a 6-foot-11 freshman for Texas, made four dunks in 10 minutes of competition off the bench. Smart says that Jones is capable of becoming the team's best shot-blocker.

"Kai has as much as more potential as anyone on our team," Smart said,

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Texas slipped from No. 22 to 31st in votes last week after losing to Georgetown and beating California. Will voters be impressed by a two-point win against a mid-major?

UP NEXT

Texas hosts UAB on Tuesday. They've met only once, with Texas winning 96-60 in December 2016 in Austin.

McNeese hosts Campbellsville-Harrodsburg on Dec. 10.

---

For more AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Leaders

McNeese State PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
S. Kennedy 22 0 2 8 0 2
L. Washington 17 0 4 3 1 0
Texas PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
A. Jones 14 0 3 2 0 1
C. Ramey 14 0 2 3 0 0

Team Comparison

McNee Tex
Points For 71 73
Field Goals 26/50-52% 30/65-46%
Three Pointers 8/16-50% 9/32-28%
Free Throws 11/13-85% 4/8-50%
Offensive Rebounds 5 17
Defensive Rebounds 19 20
Rebounds 25 41
Blocks 5 3
Steals 4 5
Turnovers 17 15
Personal Fouls 14 14
Technical Fouls 0 0
Ejections 0 0

2019-20 Reg Season - Tex Leads Series 1-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Sat Nov 30 McNee 71 @ Tex 73 S. Kennedy 22 A. Jones 14

Game Information

Stadium: Frank Erwin Special Events Center, Austin, Texas
Attendance: 8,482
Game Time: