Sun Mar 23 17:43:33 2008

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Texas holds on to beat Miami

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Little Rock, AR (Sports Network) - A.J. Abrams scored a game-high 26 points and Damion James chipped in with 16 points and 16 rebounds as Texas nearly blew a 17-point lead before holding on to defeat Miami-Florida, 75-72, in the second round of the South Regional of the NCAA Tournament at Alltel Arena.

Connor Atchley donated 15 points, while D.J. Augustin had 12 points and eight assists for second-seeded Texas (30-6), which advances to play in the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in the past seven season. The Longhorns will now face Stanford.

Jack McClinton scored a team-high 18 points, while Lance Hurdle had 11 for seventh-seeded Miami-Florida (23-11).

With Texas holding a 43-32 lead after one half, the Longhorns continued to dominate the contest in the second, going on a mini 6-1 run. James' three with 3 1/2 minutes gone gave Texas a 49-33 advantage.

Texas continued to hold a comfortable double-digit lead throughout the half, expanding the margin to 60-43 with under 11 minutes left following two Augustin free throws, but Miami was able to make it a 68-62 game with 1:37 left after a pair of free throws by McClinton.

After the Hurricanes were forced to foul, the Longhorns continued to struggle from the free-throw line, allowing Miami to get to within three at 72-69 after Raymond Hicks drilled a trey with . Abrams then made a pair from the charity stripe with 9.5 seconds left to make it a five-point game, but another three by Hicks made it a 74-72 with 1.8 ticks left.

After Augustin made 1-of-2 from the line to put the Longhorns ahead by three, Texas broke up the ensuing inbounds pass to seal the victory.

With the contest tied 8-8 in the early going, Texas went on a 21-7 run and following a three-pointer by Atchley, held a 29-15 advantage midway through the opening half.

The Hurricanes continued to chip away at the deficit and after a three by Eddie Rios, trailed 33-26 with 7:21 left in the stanza. However, The Longhorns responded with an 8-2 spurt of their own and took a 43-32 edge into the break.

Game Notes

Texas improved to 31-28 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, while Miami fell to 4-6 in the event...The Longhorns outrebounded the Hurricanes 41-30...Texas shot 43.9 percent from the field, including 50 percent (13-of-26) from three- point range, while Miami made 40 percent of its shots and 40.9 percent from beyond the arc...Hicks had 10 points.