Texas survives another scare

By Jeff Latzke - Associated Press Sports Writer     Jan 22, 2008

Oklahoma State guard James Anderson, right, fouls Texas forward Alexis Wangmene. UT squeaked by OSU, 63-61, Monday in Stillwater, Okla.

? With Texas struggling on offense, D.J. Augustin showed why he’s the Longhorns’ leader.

The sophomore point guard scored the 12th-ranked Longhorns’ final 10 points Monday night, leading them to a 63-61 victory over Oklahoma State.

Augustin scored six straight points as the Longhorns held Oklahoma State scoreless for a six-minute span for the second time in the game and took the lead, then hit all four of his free throws in the final minute to keep the Cowboys at bay.

“He’s struggled a little bit here of late. I just liked his demeanor, the way he carried himself,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “The fact that he went up there and made those was really big. We all know how important he is.”

Augustin scored 26 points, his most since Nov. 23, and Damion James added 12 points and 12 rebounds as Texas (15-3, 2-1 Big 12) earned its second straight two-point victory.

“When we needed to make a couple plays, we made them,” Barnes said.

Oklahoma State had a final chance to tie, but James Anderson’s three-pointer from the left side rimmed out with 11 seconds left. Marcus Dove’s putback also missed, and Augustin corralled the rebound and tucked it into his stomach to earn another trip to the free throw line with 5.7 seconds left.

Obi Muonelo’s three-pointer with 1.8 seconds left provided the final margin, and Justin Mason was able to hang on to an errant inbounds pass to prevent the Cowboys from getting one last possession.

Anderson finished with 17 points, Byron Eaton added 14, and Dove scored 11 as Oklahoma State (10-8, 1-3), which lost for the first time in 10 home games this season.

The Cowboys, who rallied from a 10-point deficit, led 54-51 after Eaton’s three-pointer from the left wing with 8:31 remaining but didn’t make another field goal until Dove’s layup cut Texas’ lead to 59-58 with 23 seconds left.

“We knew they were going to make runs. They play well at home, and we knew that,” Augustin said. “The crowd’s going to get behind them and push them, and they were going to feed off of that.”

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