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Mason, Balbay overpower Texas Tech
By Laken Litman Daily Texan — Thursday, Jan. 28
AUSTIN — Justin Mason and Dogus Balbay must have eaten their Wheaties on Wednesday. The two combined for 31 points and were a large part of No. 6 Texas' 95-83 victory against Texas Tech.
The two guards usually start every game but play more of an unsung-hero type of role, with a heavy presence on the defensive side of the ball and never really getting much statistical glory.
But that was not the case against the Red Raiders on Wednesday night. Mason appeared to have the hot hand early in the first half when he slammed the ball down the net after chaos ensued when three other Texas players missed a bouncing ball at the rim. He finished the first half with 13 points, going 6-8 in field goals with three rebounds in 15 minutes of play. He was extremely consistent through both halves and ended with a season-high 18 points, going 8-12 in
field goals. He also tallied four rebounds and a season-high five assists.
"It was just about letting the momentum loose and going out there to play today," Mason said. "I found the net on a couple of open jump shots, and I was just trying to find the rim a little more. That's the game plan every night."
Though he had more of an offensive effort, he didn't let his defense slip. Mason protected the ball and didn't give up a single turnover, though the Longhorns had a total of 11.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Like Mason, Balbay played more of an offensive game, but his most memorable moment was a defensive block on 6-foot-1 Texas Tech forward Theron Jenkins. Jenkins, who is five inches taller than Balbay, was driving for a slam dunk when Balbay came flying into register his 12th block of the season.
"It happens." Balbay said nonchalantly. "I knew he was going to try to dunk, so I just turned around and jumped and blocked it. I had to do it. No easy baskets."
Texas guard Justin Mason, left, fights for a loose ball with Connecticut's Kemba Walker during the second half of their game in Storrs, Conn., on Jan. 23. Connecticut upset then-No. 1 Texas 88-74.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Aggies fall to Cowboys after sluggish first half
By T.D. Durham The Battalion Thursday, Jan. 28
STILLWATER, Okla. — The Texas A&M men's basketball team lost its third road game in Big 12 Conference play Wednesday, in a 76-69 loss to Oklahoma State at Iba-Gallagher Arena in Stillwater, Okla.
Although the Aggies won the opening tip-off, they got out of the gate slowly offensively, missing the first four 3-point field goals they took and not scoring until the 16:41 mark.
The Aggies found their offense with 5:52 remaining in the first half when senior forward Bryan Davis stole the ball and found sophomore guard Dash Harris
Senior guard Obi Muonelo scored the first eight points for Oklahoma State. Muonelo finished the game with a seasonhigh 24 points and career-high tie in 3-pointers, with six.
on the fast break. Harris slammed home a dunk over two Cowboy defenders and drew a foul, which brought the Aggies to only a 6-point deficit.
A&M would tie the game with two minutes remaining in the first half and the teams would go into the locker room at halftime tied,26-26.
Texas A&M senior guard Donald Sloan, who leads the Aggies with an average of 17.6 points per game, scored just five points in first half action.
A&M kept the game close until an Anderson 3-pointer put the Aggies down by 7 points with 8:36 remaining in the bout. A&M would not pull within five points for the rest of regulation.
Sloan broke out in the second half, as he finished with a team high 27 points for the Aggies.
The loss puts the Aggies at 14-6 overall and 3-3 in Big 12.
BAYLOR BEARS
Late K-State free throws put away Baylor, 76-74
By Stephen Hawkins Associated Press — Tuesday, Jan. 26
WACO, Texas — Kansas State guard Jacob Pullen scored 25 points, with six 3-pointers and the game-winning free throws Tuesday night as No. 11 Kansas State beat No. 24 Baylor 76-74 to end the Bears' 11-game home winning streak.
"It was no big deal to me," Pullen said of his slump. "It was mental and mechanical. I felt great, like I got back into my rhythm."
Pullen's final points were two free throws with 8.2 seconds remaining as the first game at the Ferrell Center that matched ranked teams turned out to be a thriller.
Pullen was pretty good stopping shots as well. He was the primary defender on Baylor standout LaceDarius Dunn, who managed only nine points on 3 of 13 shooting after a five-game stretch when he had at least 20 points four times.
When Baylor (15-4, 2-3) got its last chance after Pullen's two free throws, Dunn dribbled the length of the court before losing the handle in the lane. He recovered in time to throw up a wild one-handed shot between several defenders that never had a chance.
Dunn was averaging 26 points in Big 12 games and had scored 33 with nine 3-pointers against the Wildcats last year.
The margin was never more than four points for either team in the final $ 17\% $ minutes in a game that featured 11 ties and 14 lead changes.
Tweety Carter had his second consecutive 23-point game for Baylor, and Anthony Jones had 12 points and nine rebounds. Epke Udoh was only 2 of 10 for eight points, but had 14 rebounds.
"It's very frustrating, but we have to let this one go," Carter said. "We have to learn from ourselves and prepare for Texas."
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE WAVE FEBRUARY 1,2010
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