No. 10 Texas 85, North Dakota State 50: Isaiah Taylor scored a game-high 18 points and highly touted freshman big man Myles Turner debuted with 15 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks off the bench as the Longhorns dominated the visiting Bison in the 2K Classic and season opener for both teams.
Jonathan Holmes added 15 points as the only other player to score in double figures for Texas, which won its 13th straight season opener. The Longhorns outrebounded North Dakota State 51-32 and held the Bison to 27.4 percent shooting (17-of-62).
Lawrence Alexander had 16 points and starting backcourt mate Kory Brown had 10 for North Dakota State, a fellow 2013-14 NCAA Tournament participant and the defending Summit League champion. Paul Miller added seven points off the bench, but the Bison reserves were outscored 32-14.
The Longhorns led 38-18 at the half and expanded the advantage to 53-22 on Demarcus Holland’s free throw with a little more than 14 minutes remaining. North Dakota State would only get as close as 55-28 before Texas cruised to the final buzzer.
Texas scored the game’s first eight points and led 20-4 at the midpoint of the opening half. Turner’s free throw with a little more than four minutes remaining gave the Longhorns a 32-9 advantage at the final media timeout before North Dakota State was able to pull within 20 points at intermission.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Texas, which is serving as one of four regional hosts in the 2K Classic, will automatically advance to the Nov. 20 semifinals at Madison Square Garden. … The Longhorns, who struggled with 3-point shooting last season, missed 15 of their 22 attempts from beyond the arc Friday night. … North Dakota State is now 5-6 in season openers since joining the Division I ranks in 2004.
North Dakota State | Texas | |
Lawrence Alexander 16 | Scoring | Isaiah Taylor 18 |
Carlin Dupree 3 | Assists | Kendal Yancy 4 |
Chris Kading 7 | Rebounds | Connor Lammert 7 |
Chris Kading 3 | Free Throws Made | Isaiah Taylor 4 |
Lawrence Alexander 3 | Steals | Prince Ibeh 2 |
Chris Kading 1 | Blocks | Myles Turner 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
North Dakota State | 50 | 27.4 | 7-29 | 9-17 | 8 | 28 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
Texas | 85 | 48.4 | 7-22 | 18-21 | 9 | 47 | 3 | 7 | 10 |