The Texas Longhorns tuned up for a Thanksgiving trip to Hawaii with a 99-65 win over the Rider Broncs at the Moody Center on Tuesday, closing out a four-game homestand.
Junior wing Dailyn Swain finished
one point short of his career-high scoring performance against Illinois in last year’s NCAA Tournament, dropping a game-high 26 on 9-of-9 shooting from inside the arc, adding five rebounds, three assists, and two steals in a strong overall effort.
Beyond the three-point line, junior forward Camden Heide took advantage of his first start in burnt orange and white by more aggressively looking for his shot, attempting nine threes after entering the game with one three-point shot in three games, hitting six for a career-high 20 points.
With 42 points in the paint, the Longhorns received another strong effort from sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis, who finished with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor and 8-of-12 shooting from the line. Vokietaitis was plus-36 on the court despite only playing 21 minutes due to foul trouble.
The lively pace of play by Texas produced 34 fast-break points as the Horns shot 55 percent from the floor while continuing to limit turnovers with only six giveaways.
Less heartening were the performances from senior guard Jordan Pope and graduate guard Tramon Mark. The two lead guards for the Horns combined for nine points on 3-of-14 shooting. As playmakers, Pope and Mark performed better, producing an 8-to-2 assist-to-turnover ratio with the only two miscues coming from Mark.
After a 10-2 start against Kansas City failed to translate across the remaining 37-plus minutes, the opening 14-2 run by Texas wasn’t necessarily indicative of continued success, but there were some positive signs like a quick pace, crisp ball movement, and better outside shooting in taking a 17-4 lead into the first media timeout, highlighted by two threes from Heide, into the starting lineup for the first time in place of sophomore forward Nic Codie, out with a groin injury sustained in practice on Monday.
The Horns opened with 6-of-7 shooting as Swain, Mark, and Vokietaitis all scored around the rim and Pope hit a three in transition.
The undisciplined start for Rider helped — of the first 10 shot attempts by Broncs, four came from beyond the arc despite the worst three-point shooting percentage in the country heading into the game.
Vokietaitis continued to put pressure on opposing defenses with his work in the post, finishing through contact but failing to convert a three-point play and drawing another foul before heading to the bench for a breather. Dogged effort from senior guard Chendall Weaver produced a similar outcome, ripping the ball away from a Rider player and drawing a whistle on his layup, but missing his ensuing chance at the line.
Frustrated with the defense by the Longhorns in the midst of a 7-2 spurt by the Broncs, Texas head coach Sean Miller called a timeout with 13:11 remaining in the first half and a 10-point lead.
The brief lull happened even though the Horns were getting good looks offensively, but also because of misses at the line in a 2-of-6 start that included an empty trip for Mark.
Ten straight points by Swain helped maintain the double-digit margin for Texas as the quick 3-of-4 start from distance dissolved into eight straight misses. On the other end, the worst three-point shooting team in the country went 4-of-11 in the first half, 36.4-percent shooting that more than doubled the season mark for Rider entering the game.
A late three by junior guard Simeon Wilcher ended the streak of nine missed treys by Texas and allowed the Horns to go into halftime with a 44-28 lead.
Out of the break, Texas ripped off a 12-4 run as the margin reached 24 points, forcing a timeout by Rider after a turnover led to a breakaway dunk by Swain, who scored seven of those points in the best performance of his brief Longhorns career. The scorching scoring from Swain continued by drawing a shooting foul on a fast break and using his physicality to produce a three-point play at the rim.
Pushing the tempo, Texas showed promising signs in transition with eight of the next 10 points scored on the fast break as Wilcher hit a three and attacked the rim for a layup. Pope also hit a three in the open court.
Just as promising was the aggressiveness of Heide in searching his shot, having his teammates find him, and converting on four threes in less than three minutes of game time with the final two coming well beyond the arc, prompting a 30-foot heat check that banged off the backboard.
Next up, Texas heads to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational with a Monday matchup against Arizona State.
