AUSTIN — In another businesslike performance by the No. 7 Texas Longhorns to start the season, head coach Sean Miller’s team took control early and didn’t allow much rhythm to the Grambling State Tigers until late in the contest at the Moody Center on Monday in a 93-62 victory.
A big second half propelled junior center Matas Vokietaitis to a game-high 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor and 10-of-12 shooting from the free-throw line, including 15 points after halftime as the big Lithuanian
hit all four of his shot attempts and all seven of his free throws, adding four rebounds.
The story of the first half was freshman guard Joe Sterling, who notched 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting overall, 3-of-4 shooting from three, and 2-of-3 shooting from the line with two assists and two steals, continuing the strong start to his Longhorns career after getting overlooked by high-major programs during his recruitment.
Freshman forward Marcus Spears Jr. (12 points), junior wing Elyjah Freeman (11 points), and junior forward David Punch (10 points) also reached double figures as the Longhorns shot 50.8 percent from the floor, but struggled times at the free-throw line in shooting 64.3 percent.
Texas notched a 14-0 advantage in fast-break points, a 46-18 edge in points in the paint, and the Longhorns off the bench outscored the Tigers 41-26.
A high-low action on the first possession produced an entry pass to Vokietaitis and a foul against Grambling State seven-footer Isaiah Miranda. After freshman guard Austin Goosby turned a steal by Punch into a transition slam by Freeman, the Auburn transfer drew a second foul on Miranda on a drive to the basket.
Miranda stayed in the game, missing his first two shots, but in the wake of the Tigers scoring their points on a corner three, Vokietaitis recovered his own miss and drew a third whistle against Miranda, sending him to the bench at the 16:57 mark.
The concern for Longhorns head coach Sean Miller was 4-of-9 start at the free-throw line, but the team’s defense was stifling, heading into the first media break with a 10-3 lead.
A set play for Vokietaitis drew the sixth foul against the Tigers a little more than four minutes into the game, the seventh came 40 seconds later, and the eighth 45 seconds after that, coming on a three-point attempt by Sterling, who missed another attempt this season after shooting almost 99 percent during the team’s offseason program.
But two makes got Sterling into rhythm, and he knocked down a transition three on the next possession, extending the margin to 16-3 and forcing a timeout by Grambling State head coach Patrick Crareyat the 13:39 mark.
If that timeout emphasized finding Sterling beyond the arc, it didn’t work — Sterling drained another on another assist from sophomore guard Isaiah Johnson. The Tigers remained overwhelmed offensively as Sterling came up with a steal and led the break, delivering a lob that Punch slammed home through contact, converting the three-point play at the line.
Miranda reentered the game and ended a scoring drought of almost five minutes that featured five missed shots.
By the under-12 timeout, the Horns were up 22-5, allowing two baskets by the Tigers compared to six turnovers — Grambling State was three times more likely to give the ball away than to score. Pressure from the Texas defense, which threw in a 1-3-1 before the second media break, forced eight of the first 12 shots by GSU to come from beyond the arc.
A short roll by Vokietaitis led to a left-handed throw down over Miranda, forced to concede the slam instead of committing his fourth foul.
At the under-eight stoppage, Texas was up 32-10 as Miranda tried unsuccessfully to force himself on the game — the five-time transfer was 1-of-8 shooting overall, had missed all six of his three-point attempts, and gave away two turnovers.
Five straight made baskets for the Horns included a three by Sterling, a jumper in the lane aided by his shot credibility, and a dunk by Vokietaitis assisted by the sharpshooting Californian.
A lob from Goosby to Spears, freed up by a back screen against the zone, highlighted the stretch before the under-four timeout.
Texas headed into halftime leading 55-27 and was able to get some playing time late in the half for sophomore center Lewis Obiorah, but the overall free-shooting issues persisted — the Longhorns finished 13-of-23 shooting from the charity stripe (56.5 percent) and allowed the Tigers to hit three of their last four shots to find some rhythm.
Two early baskets for Grambling State were a positive start to the second half, but the Tigers also gave up a three-point play to Vokietaitis and made a bad inbounds pass that led to breakout slam by Freeman, causing Crarey to use a timeout at the 17:47 mark.
Vokietaitis followed with six straight points for the Longhorns before Spears flashed by leaking out for a fast-break dunk and turning a giveaway into a driving layup.
Before the under-eight timeout, Vokeitaits went on another personal foul, hitting four free throws and finishing at the rim, a stretch broken by a coast-to-coast layup from Punch. During that stretch, sophomore forward John Clark made his Texas debut after recovering from a hand injury.
Miller might not have been happy with how his team closed out the game — Grambling State went on a 17-2 across the under-four timeout even though plenty of rotation players were still on the court for Texas. Clark finally broke it with his first collegiate basket, a layup through contact, and converted the three-point opportunity at the line.
Texas leaves the Moody Center for the first time this season for a Sunday matchup against Baylor at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio at 2 p.m. Central on ESPN.
