Texas College Basketball Capsules: James leads No. 7 Texas over Tulane

AUSTIN - Texas forward Dexter Pittman fondly remembers the late Pete Newell's kind words.

"He told me I was a beast," Pittman said.

For a 6-foot-10, 300-pound basketball player trying to use his body to his best advantage against smaller opponents, it was a huge compliment from one of the game's greatest tutors.

Pittman lived up to Newell's words Tuesday night, scoring 10 points and grabbing six rebounds in 15 minutes as No. 7 Texas cruised to a 76-51 win over Tulane. It was Pittman's second career start and his first since attending Newell's camp for big men in Las Vegas last summer.

Pittman said Newell, who died Monday, had him on the court early every morning that week. Newell spoke to him often, rattling off the names of the Hall of Fame players who had learned from the Hall of Fame coach.

"He told me I was one of the biggest big men he had ever had through the camp," Pittman said. "He was a nice guy."

Damion James scored 16 points to lead the Longhorns (2-0), who had five players score in double figures. A.J. Abrams added 15 points, hitting Texas' only three 3-pointers of the game.

Texas also used a stellar defensive effort to turn the game into a rout by halftime. The Longhorns had 16 steals and forced 25 turnovers, while holding Tulane to 31 percent shooting overall.

Kevin Sims scored 11 points to lead Tulane (1-1), which trailed by as many as 37 points in the second half.

"They saw we couldn't handle the pressure," Tulane coach Dave Dickerson said. "We couldn't rebound tonight, we couldn't pass tonight. Whenever you can't pass and catch, it's tough."

Texas coach Rick Barnes promised he would use a big lineup this season and Pittman had promised he could be a much more effective player than his first two years when he struggled with his weight and conditioning.

Pittman had started to come on strong for Texas in the NCAA tournament last season. Against Tulane, he showed off improved footwork and passing and quicker moves to the basket. He even dished an assist with a nifty bounce pass to Connor Atchley for a layup in the first half. He likely would have played more than 15 minutes if he didn't pick up four fouls.

Pittman said Newell told him to keep improving his feel for where a defender is without looking at him. When told of Newell's death on Monday, "it was kind of shocking," Pittman said.

James said the Longhorns are counting on Pittman to be a force in the post all season.

"When Dexter gets the ball inside, he's going to score," James said. "For us to be where we want to be, Dexter's got to help us a lot."

The Longhorns also saw the debut of sophomore guard Dogus Balbay, who will be counted on this season to fill the void at the point left by D.J. Augustin, who is in the NBA.

Balbay sat out last season after a knee injury and while serving an NCAA suspension for playing for a professional club as a youth in his native Turkey. The suspension forced him to miss Texas' season-opening win over Stetson.

Balbay entered the game against Tulane with about 13 minutes left in the first half and quickly contributed a layup and had one of Texas' eight steals in the first half. He also had a couple of blown layups in the second half.

"I was really happy for Dogus," Barnes said. "For his first time in, he really came with a pit-bull attitude."

Abrams had 10 points with two 3-pointers as Texas built a 42-25 halftime lead. Texas led 15-10 before Balbay's layup started a 16-4 run that opened up a double-digit lead.

Texas opened the second half with two dunks. The first came when Abrams pulled up for a 3-pointer, then rifled a pass to Pittman under the basket. James followed it with a steal and fastbreak slam that put Texas up by 21 before three more steals ended in more Texas baskets.

Texas A&M defeats Stephen F. Austin 55-48

COLLEGE STATION - Texas A&M's Bryan Davis scored 16 points and had a key block as Texas A&M avoided an upset with a 55-48 victory over Stephen F. Austin Tuesday night.

The Aggies led 44-42 with 4:41 remaining when Stephen F. Austin's Matt Kingsley appeared to have an easy basket inside, but Davis blocked the shot.

Nathan Walkup helped seal the victory with a 17-foot jump shot from the left corner as the shot clock expired with 1:09 remaining, lifting the Aggies (2-0) to a 48-42 lead.

Stephen F. Austin (1-1) and the Aggies were tied 29-29 at the half.

Davis and Donald Sloan each scored 16 to lead Texas A&M. Josh Alexander scored 21 for the Lumberjacks.

A&M overcame a poor shooting night from Josh Carter, who finished 1 of 6 from the field after scoring 23 points in the Aggies

season-opening victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Dunn scores early, Baylor wins big over Centenary

WACO - LaceDarius Dunn scored eight consecutive points to start an early 16-0 run that put Baylor firmly in control on the way to a 90-55 victory over Centenary on Tuesday.

Dunn's fastbreak jumper broke a 5-5 tie and he followed with 3-pointers on Baylor's next two possessions, after turnovers by Centenary (0-2). By the time Curtis Jerrells made a layup seven minutes into the game, the Bears already had a 21-5 lead.

Jerrells had 20 points and eight assists for Baylor (2-0). Dunn finished with 18 points, 15 by halftime when the Bears led 42-20. Centenary never got closer than 20 in the second half.

Chase Adams had 12 points for the Gents, who will play 15 road games before their home opener for new coach Greg Gary on Jan. 8. That includes three more games against Big 12 opponents.

Even without guard Tweety Carter, who served the second game of a three-game suspension for a unspecified violation of team rules, Baylor had five players score in double figures. The Bears shot 64 percent (32-of-50).

Quincy Acy, the freshman who had a double-double in the Bears' season-opening 58-point victory Saturday, followed up his debut with 15 points on 7-of-7 shooting including several spectacular dunks. Henry Dugat had 14 points and Kevin Rogers 13.

Houston defeats Alcorn St. 110-57

HOUSTON - Kelvin Lewis scored 23 points and Aubrey Coleman added 20 for the Houston Cougars in a 110-57 win over Alcorn State on Tuesday night.

Twelve of Lewis' points came off 3-pointers. Marcus Cousin had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Cougars (3-1). Desmond Wade added 14 points.

Jarvis Williams led Alcorn State (0-2) with 15 points. Troy Jackson added 11.

Houston took the lead for good on Coleman's layup with 14:08 left in the first half. The Cougars led 56-39 at the half and continued to widen the margin in the second half, leading by as much as 54 points.

Long scores 19 in UTA win over Texas Wesleyan

ARLINGTON - Brandon Long scored 19 points and Anthony Vereen added 18 as Texas-Arlington held off a late rally for a 74-71 win over Texas Wesleyan on Tuesday night.

Terrell Henry made a 3-pointer with about 10 seconds left to cut the Texas-Arlington lead to three. He followed that up with a steal but couldn't connect on the game's final shot after two missed free throws by Vereen.

Chris Berry led Texas Wesleyan (1-2) with 24 points and had 11 rebounds. Henry finished with 17 points.

The Mavericks (2-0) led 40-33 at the half.

Mitchell leads Cincinnati past Texas Southern

CINCINNATI - Alvin Mitchell scored a career-high 15 points, and Deonta Vaughn added 12 points, six assists and five rebounds to lead Cincinnati to an easy victory against Texas Southern.

From the beginning, Texas Southern (0-2) was no match for UC (2-0). The Tigers missed eight of their first nine shots and fell behind 21-5 nine minutes into the game.

Texas Southern, which has yet to win under coach Tony Harvey, was led by DeAndre Hall's career-high 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Michael Drewy notched 11 points and seven rebounds.

The Bearcats' Yancy Gates struggled in the second contest of his career after making a strong rookie debut with 16 points and 11 rebounds against South Dakota State on Sunday. He left Tuesday's game with 12:58 to play in the first half after recording his second foul, finishing with three points and four rebounds in 11 minutes.