Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
Texas
Men's Hoops Falls To Texas, 96-71
February 26, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Feb 26, 2002
By JIM VERTUNO
AP Sports Writer
AUSTIN, Texas - Brandon Mouton scored 25 points as Texas coasted past Texas Tech 96-71 Tuesday night with the Longhorns' most impressive game of the season.
Texas (18-10, 9-6 Big 12) hit 10 3-pointers and dominated the rebounding 39-18 in pulling into a four-way tie for third place in the conference with Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Missouri.
Andy Ellis led the Red Raiders (20-7, 9-6) with 17 points. The loss stopped Tech's winning streak at four.
The top four teams in the league will earn a first-round bye in the conference tournament. No team has won the tournament without the bye.
With just one game left in the regular season, Texas owns the tie-breaker with Tech with two wins over the Red Raiders this season. The Longhorns have won 11 in a row over their in-state rivals.
Mouton hit 5-of-6 3 pointers. Texas also got 18 points from James Thomas, 14 from Sydmill Harris and 12 from Royal Ivey as the Longhorns shot 57 percent from the floor as a team.
Texas point guard T.J. Ford, who leads the nation in assists, dished out 10 against the Red Raiders.
Texas never trailed and led 45-32 on Thomas' tip-in at the buzzer to end the first half. The Longhorns held a 26-7 rebounding edge by halftime and never let up.
The Longhorns opened the second with a 13-6 run with a 3-pointer by Mouton and took its first 20-point lead at 63-43 on Harris' 3 with 12:41 to play.
Tech shot 53 percent from the floor but it wasn't enough to make up for Texas' tremendous advantage on the boards. The Red Raiders scored just nine second-chance points compared to 25 for Texas.
