Austin, TX – Texas (5-2) ran away from Florida A&M (1-8) in the second half in a 82-58 win in front of 8,511 fans at the Erwin Center. The Longhorns overcame extremely poor first half long distance shooting with second half offensive efficiency.
In the first half Texas employed a full court press defense that forced Florida A&M into some early turnovers which resulted in easy Longhorn baskets. Texas managed to keep up this solid defense without committing very many fouls. Florida A&M couldn’t seem to find a reliable go to scorer, trying many different options during the half. Desmond Williams seemed their best option and finished the half with seven points on seven shots. Little production was seen from the bench as the Rattlesnakes found it hard to get into the painted area and couldn’t get to the free throw line. They managed to shoot well from long distance (36%) which helped them keep into the game.
Texas dominated the first half although it didn’t show on the scoreboard with only a nine point advantage. Much of the issue was due to their poor 1-of-13 (8%) three-point shooting.
Texas stared to dominate the game early in the second half as they started to shoot much better, especially from distance. Mohamed Bamba would see doubles and even triple teams in the post which allowed more players to get open looks. Even though Florida A&M managed to outrebound Texas during much of the second half and did get to the free throw line more, the damage had already been done and Texas cruised to a comfortable 24-point win helped by 75 percent second half shooting.
Dylan Osetkowski
We were impressed with Dylan Osetkowski’s physicality at the PK80 and he continued that effort in this game. With 19 points and eight rebounds in only 21 minutes of action, it was clear that Osetkowski was the best player on the court for the night. What wasn’t seen in the box score was his hustle and ability to force his opponents into mistakes. Bamba (10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks) played well and let the game come to him. His presence on defense was evident as players would force quick shots when near the paint.
Williams led Florida A&M with 21 points and four rebounds. He had a game high five turnovers which was forgivable as he was his teams main scoring option. He shot well from all areas of the court. Isaiah Martin (13 points, 11 rebounds) contributed to his team on both ends. Although needing better timing in shot blocking he still did alter a few shots and collected more rebounds than any other player in a game high 38 minutes.
This article was written by Daniel Gould, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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