Arthur Kaluma racked up 14 points and 12 rebounds and Tre Johnson added 12 points as Texas made the plays down the stretch to beat No. 22 Missouri 61-53 on Tuesday in Southeastern Conference action in Austin, Texas.
The Longhorns (13-6, 2-4) led by seven at halftime after a ragged first half for both teams. Missouri leapfrogged to the lead early in the second half and held it until Texas pulled ahead during a 7-0 run capped by Kaluma’s putback basket with 1:54 to play.
Johnson hit a key layup with 58 seconds left to stoke the Longhorns’ lead to 58-51. A pair of free throws by Kaluma with 15.7 seconds to play finished off Missouri, which had won four in a row.
Johnson, the Longhorns’ freshman phenom, was a factor despite 3-of-15 shooting from the field. Texas won despite shooting just 34 percent from the floor but outrebounded the Tigers 39-31 and had a 20-4 edge in second-chance points.
Tamar Bates scored 10 points to lead Missouri (15-4, 4-2). He was the only player in double figures for the Tigers, who were held to 31.3 percent shooting from the field and scored a season low in points.
Neither team scored for nearly the first four minutes, and the first made field goal came when Bates’ layup at the 15:57 mark put the Tigers up 2-1. Missouri led 4-3 until Kadin Shedrick’s layup with 11:48 to play in the half gave Texas its initial basket for a 5-4 advantage.
An 8-2 run late in the half that featured a pair of free throws from Johnson, a three from Kaluma and another ringing basket from beyond the arc by Johnson, the latter with 1:57 to play, extended the Longhorns’ margin to 10.
Missouri’s Caleb Grill hit a 3-pointer then a pair of free throws with one minute to play before Tramon Mark’s jumper allowed Texas to carry a 32-25 lead to the break.
Texas’ Jordan Pope led all scorers with eight points before halftime while Grill was one of three Missouri players with five points each.
The Tigers then went back in front at 41-38 when Perkins canned a three with 14 minutes to play. Shedrick’s free throw with 4:27 left tied the game at 41 and set the stage for the furious finish.
–Field Level Media
