Texas College Basketball Capsules: Moses brings Cowboys inside presence in 72-61 win

STILLWATER, Okla. - Marshall Moses' path to being productive for Oklahoma State started out having nothing to do with how he was playing on the basketball court.

When coach Travis Ford called him aside, he wanted to talk about something entirely different.

"It started with a little small talk about my locker," Moses said. "It was the junkiest locker ever, and actually it just got cleaned. He took that and just took everything in my life from school to how I was living and just said, ‘It's time to grow up. You're 20 years old and everybody else on this team is being a man, and it's time for you to.'

"I took it to heart."

Moses' change in attitude finally came through on the court Saturday night when he set career highs with 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Cowboys to a 72-61 defeat of Texas A&M in Ford's Big 12 debut.

Moses called it a "maturity talk" that he had with Ford about two months ago.

"I respect coach Ford, so I was definitely going to take heed to anything he said, too," Moses said. "I just transferred it over to basketball, and I've been playing better ever since."

The breakthrough for Moses could be a pivotal moment for Oklahoma State (12-3, 1-0 Big 12), which has been lacking an inside presence since Ford kicked starting forward Ibrahima Thomas off the team Dec. 8. Moses has split time with Malcoln Kirkland and Anthony Brown since then, and he came through with the Cowboys' most productive post game since Thomas' departure.

"I just wanted to win," said Moses, a 6-foot-5 sophomore. "I wanted to win the first Big 12 game for coach Ford and the first real Big 12 game of my career because I didn't play much last year."

Moses went 6-for-11 from the field and got three of his baskets off of offensive rebounds, none bigger than one that halted a second-half comeback by the Aggies (14-2, 0-1).

Texas A&M had scored nine straight points and cut Oklahoma State's lead from 17 points to 62-54 when Nathan Walkup tipped in a missed 3-point shot by B.J. Holmes.

Moses countered at the other end with a tip-in of his own, off of Terrel Harris' missed reverse layup, and Obi Muonelo and Byron Eaton added back-to-back baskets to get the lead to 14. The Cowboys cruised the rest of the way for their seventh straight win.

Eaton finished with 14 points, Muonelo had 12 points and 11 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double and Harris scored 11 while also shutting out Josh Carter, the Aggies' leading scorer with an average just under 14 points.

With Carter shut down for the first time in nearly two years, the Aggies got big games from two less familiar options.

Chinemelu Elonu had a career-high 20 points, and Holmes scored a career-best 19 off the bench. Donald Sloan added 12 points for the Aggies, who had a 10-game winning streak snapped.

"They made certain guys try to beat them, and our certain guys couldn't get it done," Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon said.

Oklahoma State took control from the outset, stealing the ball on A&M's first three possessions and racing out to a 30-16 lead. Holmes led the Aggies back, scoring seven points during a 14-2 run that cut the deficit to 32-30 just before halftime.

Eaton and Harris restored the cushion by hitting 3-pointers to start the second half, and Muonelo sank a jumper and a 3-pointer to start a 10-0 run that stretched Oklahoma State's edge to 55-38 with about 13 minutes left.

"I thought they were really good defensively and kept us out of our rhythm," Turgeon said. "And then I thought our decision-making was just atrocious tonight. They make you make decisions and our guys made the wrong ones most of the time."

James scores 19 to lead No. 7 Texas past Iowa St.

AUSTIN - The shots still aren't falling for Texas' A.J. Abrams. The Longhorns still found a way to win.

Instead of the 3-pointers the senior guard usually rains on opponents, it was the mid-range shooting of forwards Damion James and Gary Johnson that carried No. 7 Texas to 75-67 win over Iowa State on Saturday in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

Iowa State purposely dropped off James and Johnson while keeping pressure on Abrams at all times, and they picked apart the Cyclones by knocking down the open looks. James finished with 19 points and Johnson scored 17.

"The team needs an extra boost when A.J.'s getting the toughest defense every night," Johnson said. "That's what I'm trying to do."

Texas' leading scorer this season, Abrams finished with eight points, the fourth time in five games he's been held under 10. He was 2-of-10 shooting, making just one from long range.

"A.J. has struggled. Today was the first day I thought he was really pressing," Texas coach Rick Barnes said.

The Longhorns (12-3) are undefeated in 11 conference home openers under Barnes and have also won a school record 13 in a row at home in the Big 12, dating back to 2007 when Kevin Durant was a Texas freshman.

The Cyclones have been just the opposite, losing their ninth straight Big 12 road game. Craig Brackins scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Iowa State (11-5) on Saturday, his sixth double-double of the season.

"We had to come in here and play a pretty perfect game to beat Texas," Iowa State coach Greg McDermott said.

McDermott's plan was not only to stop Abrams on the perimeter, but for his big players to stay close to the basket to keep the Longhorns from crashing in for offensive rebounds. The Cyclones outrebounded Texas 42-38 but the strategy backfired when it gave the Longhorns the open looks to shoot 55 percent from the field in the second half.

"I'll take 55 percent shooting any time," Barnes said.

Johnson was 6-of-9 from the field and James was 8-of-16.

"That's cool with me," James said. "We work so hard on our individual game. It was hard to get rebounds."

Johnson used a variety of moves to score 13 in the first half. He had eight points in a 17-5 Texas run that opened up a 29-16 lead before Iowa State closed to 33-27 by halftime.

The Cyclones quickly cut the lead to one after the break when Justin Hamilton hit a 3-pointer on the first shot of the half and Brackins converted a three-point play. Two dunks by James and a third by Dexter Pittman allowed Texas to hold onto the slim lead.

The Longhorns pushed the lead to 58-47 when Pittman dunked over Hamilton and Johnson blocked a shot and grabbed it to set up Justin Mason's layup.

The Cyclones wouldn't let Texas get comfortable. Lucca Staiger twice got lost in the corner for wide open shots before the Longhorns finally put the game away. Two nifty passes under the basket from Varez Ward to Pittman and Connor Atchley led to easy baskets that put Texas up 67-57 with four minutes to play.

Staiger finished with 15 points.

-- Jim Vertuno

Dunn's surge leads Baylor over Texas Tech 

WACO - Baylor guard LaceDarius Dunn got knocked to the floor, his 3-point shot fluttering out of bounds when the whistle finally blew.

Except Dunn wasn't going to the free-throw line. Instead of a foul, officials ruled that Dunn's shot had been deflected out of bounds by Texas Tech's D'walyn Roberts. So Dunn found another way to extend his scoring streak.

Dunn quickly got the ball back, penetrated between two defenders and hit a short jumper. Then he made a 3-pointer on the next possession, capping his run of 11 consecutive points that pushed the No. 23 Bears ahead to stay in a 73-61 victory Saturday over the Red Raiders in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

"For a stretch, Lace just got hot, so we just gave him the ball," Curtis Jerrells said.

The Bears (13-2) never trailed after Dunn started his scoring spurt with consecutive 3-pointers, one from the left corner with 12:18 left and another from the right wing just more than a minute later after a Texas Tech free throw had tied the game at 45. Dunn finished with five 3-pointers and 20 points.

"Lace does a great job staying focused, doesn't get rattled," coach Scott Drew said.

Dunn looked hopelessly at the referee for the foul call that never came. But when play resumed, he was ready to score again.

"They were giving me the ball and I was just taking advantage of it," Dunn said. "The hardest thing is trying not to get too pumped up. I was just trying to keep my composure and not let other players get to me."

It was another big bounce-back game for Dunn against the Red Raiders (10-6), coming eight days after he had only one field goal and a season-low nine points in the Bears' one-point home loss to South Carolina. Last season, Dunn followed a five-point game by scoring a career-best 38 against Texas Tech.

"He's just good," Red Raiders coach Pat Knight said. "We were deciding before the game if we should stick on somebody or not, but the problem with them, they've got three or four lethal guys out there at a time. So it's not a typical scout where you can just stay on a guy."

Dunn led five players scoring in double figures for Baylor, which opened conference play as a Top 25 team for the first time in school history. Kevin Rogers had 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Jerrells had 13 points, Tweety Carter 11 and Henry Dugat 10.

Alan Voskuil had 14 points for Texas Tech, which jumped out to a 7-0 lead less than 2 minutes into the game before Drew called timeout.

The combination of Jerrells and Dugat produced two quick baskets with the first of Tech's 23 turnovers coming in between. Dugat penetrated for a basket after getting a pass from Jerrells, who then had a layup on a pass from Dugat.

But Baylor didn't go ahead until Rogers' inside basket made it 17-15 with 10:50 left in the first half. That was part of a 12-0 run in which Dunn had two 3-pointers and put Baylor in front until the second half.

"Experience definitely helps. You don't get rattled as easily," Drew said. "It's easier to overcome adversity when you've been through adversity. When we go into games, we won't sneak up on people. People are going to be excited to play us. We have to be ready."

Carter briefly lost the handle of the ball, but recovered and got it to Dunn at the top of the key to tie the game at 15. That duo worked again a couple of minutes later for another 3-pointer that made it 20-15.

Nick Okorie's 3-pointer punctuated a 11-6 spurt to start the second half that put Tech up 40-39 with 14:45 left. But Dunn took over after Voskuil's jumper that made it 44-42.

Okorie had 13 points for Texas Tech while Roberts and Robert Lewandowski had 10 points each.

"We competed really well for 35 minutes and then we had a couple of just bad mistakes," Knight said. "If we can sustain that effort and keep on going, I'll be pleased, but the outcome is not what you want."

--Stephen Hawkins

Kingsley scores 21 in 75-73 SFA win over Bearkats

NACOGODOCHES - Matt Kingsley scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds to help Stephen F. Austin hold off Sam Houston State 75-73 on Saturday.

The Bearkats stayed close but SFA (9-4, 1-0 Southland) never trailed in the final 14 minutes. DeLuis Ramirez, who scored 12 points for Sam Houston State, missed a layup with seven seconds left that would have tied it.

Josh Alexander scored 16 points for SFA. Eddie Williams added 14 and Eric Bell scored 10.

Preston Brown led all scorers in the game with 22 points for the Sam Houston State (6-8, 0-1).

Benson's 21 leads Bobcats to 87-76 win over UTA

SAN MARCOS - Brent Benson scored 21 points off the bench and Brandon Bush scored 19 to lead Texas State to a 87-76 victory over Texas-Arlington on Saturday.

Benson hit five 3-pointers, and Emmanuel Bidias A' Moute added 16 points in backup duty to help the Bobcats (8-6, 1-0 Southland) outscore the Mavericks 48-14 off the bench.

Marquez Haynes led Texas-Arlington (7-7, 0-1) with 23 points. Anthony Vereen scored 16 and Brandon Long added 12.

WOMEN

Texas Tech holds on to beat No. 8 Texas 65-62

LUBBOCK - Coach Kristy Curry didn't call up the play that sealed Texas Tech's 65-62 win over No. 8 Texas on Saturday.

With the game tied at 62, Tilmila Martin was supposed to drive the basket. But the junior guard got too deep along the baseline and kicked the ball out to Dominic Seals.

Seals, who finished with 16 points, hit a short jumper with 7.4 seconds remaining to give the Lady Raiders their fifth straight win.

"That was not what we wanted to run, but players make plays and you have to credit our kids," Curry said. "It really helps with T. Martin moves real quick with the ball in her hands."

Jordan Murphree had 19 points for the Lady Raiders (10-4, 1-0 Big 12), who won their second straight over the Longhorns in Lubbock.

Brittany Raven had 21 points for Texas, which dropped its third straight road game. Kathleen Nash added 20 points.

Texas Tech let a 13-point lead dwindle in the final 6:47 of the game and Nash tied it at 62 on two free throws with 16.4 seconds left.

After Seals scored to put Tech up 64-62, Texas brought the ball up and Nash was called for charging against Murphree with 2.4 seconds left. Texas coach Gail Goestenkors said the call was "extremely unusual" and "extremely frustrating" because Nash didn't have the ball when she was called for the charge.

"You have to play at an elite level and you can't rely on officiating in any way, shape or form," Goestenkors said. "If it's a close game, you don't want to give the officials an opportunity to have an impact."

It was the second loss this week for the Longhorns (12-3, 0-1), who likely will drop out of the Top 10. Texas, which came into the game leading the Big 12 in free-throw percentage (76.5), made only 12-of-21.

"If we hit our free throws, it might have looked a little different," Goestenkors said.

The Longhorns' quickness had Tech on its heels early in the first half, but Tiny Henderson came off the Tech bench and provided a defensive spark.

Tech forced eight turnovers in the final 12 minutes of the first half and used a 10-4 run in the final 3:30 to lead 34-31 at the break.

The Lady Raiders scored eight unanswered points to start the second half for a 42-31 lead.

-- Betsy Blaney

No. 3 Texas A&M beats Missouri 62-56

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Danielle Gant would not be denied.

Surrounded by three Missouri defenders in the lane, the Texas A&M senior muscled in a basket late in the game to help the No. 3 Aggies pull away for a 62-56 victory Saturday night after blowing a 17-point lead.

The power move capped a perfect night for Gant, who was 10-for-10 from the field and hit both her free throws in scoring 22 points. She added seven rebounds, four assists and a steal.

"Danielle Gant took the game over," Aggies coach Gary Blair said.

Missouri coach Cindy Stein was equally impressed.

"Holy cow. Can she ever miss?" Stein asked. "She's a tremendous athlete."

Takia Starks added 14 points and La Toya Micheaux had 10 rebounds for Texas A&M (13-1, 1-0 Big 12). Shakara Jones led Missouri (9-5, 0-1) with 14 points, with Jessra Johnson adding 13 points.

A&M led 27-23 after a sloppy first half in which neither team shot more than 35 percent from the field. The Aggies broke the game open with an 18-5 run in the first six minutes of the second half. Missouri cut the deficit to four behind a halfcourt trap, forcing Blair to enlist Gant to help bring the ball upcourt against Missouri's pressure.

Blair called the road win in both teams' conference opener a good salve following the Aggies' previous performance, a 60-53 loss in Tallahassee five days earlier.

"We didn't fold like at Florida State," he said. "This is a veteran team that doesn't make a lot of mistakes."

Missouri is coming off a last-place Big 12 finish and just two conference wins in 2007. A&M, by contrast, advanced to the NCAA regional finals a year ago.

While stopping short of calling the game a moral victory, Stein said she liked how her team responded to the large second-half deficit.

"We proved we're not last year's team," she said. "We didn't lay down and die."

Blair also complimented Missouri - the Big 12's preseason last-place pick - for making life difficult for his team, which committed 20 turnovers.

"If this team was picked 12th in the league, that tells you how good the league is," he said.

Entering Saturday's game, the conference had four teams in the AP Top 10: A&M, Oklahoma (No. 4), Baylor (No. 6) and Texas (No. 8).

Gant, a 5-foot-10 player whom her coach calls a future WNBA athlete, seemed to savor her performance afterward.

"I've never had a night like this," she said.

-- Alan Scher Zagier