Sophomore guard Tyrese Hunter posted a career-best 26 points to lead No. 11/11 Texas (3-0) to an impressive 93-74 victory against No. 2/2 Gonzaga (2-1) on Wednesday night before a sellout crowd of 11,313 fans at Moody Center.
The win tied a program record for the highest-ranked AP opponent defeated and marked the fourth time in school history that the Longhorns have beaten the No. 2 team in The AP poll.
Hunter converted 9-of-14 field goals, including a 5-of-8 mark from three-point range, and 3-of-3 free throws while adding two assists, three rebounds and one steal in 26 minutes. His previous scoring high was 23 points against LSU on March 18, 2022 while at Iowa State. Graduate Marcus Carr posted 16 points while hitting 4-of-9 threes and added seven assists against just one turnover in 36 minutes.
Senior Dylan Disu tallied 12 points while converting 5-of-7 field goals, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, in 13 minutes. Graduate Sir'Jabari Rice added 11 points while hitting 6-of-6 free throws in 27 minutes. A total of seven Longhorns recorded at least seven points during the victory.
Texas registered 17 assists against just 10 turnovers and limited Gonzaga to 10 assists while forcing 20 turnovers on the night. The Longhorns posted a 27-7 margin in points off turnovers. UT converted 51.5-percent (34-66) from the floor, including a 13-of-33 mark (.394) from three-point range.
After a Disu three-pointer gave Texas a 3-0 lead at the 18:34 mark, Gonzaga used a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to grab a 10-3 advantage following a Nolan Hickman three-pointer with 16:17 remaining. UT responded with a 9-2 spurt over a two-minute span to tie the game at 12-12 after a Carr three-pointer at the 14:08 mark.
Gonzaga took a 20-17 lead following an Anton Watson three-pointer with 11:41 left, before Texas answered with a 12-3 run over the next four-plus minutes to build a 29-23 cushion after a Rice three-pointer at the 6:54 mark. Leading 43-37 with 1:42 remaining, the Longhorns used back-to-back layups from Brock Cunningham to take a 47-37 advantage into the locker room.
The Longhorns converted 51.5-percent (17-33) from the field, including 7-of-16 (.438) three-point range, and 6-of-6 free throws in the opening 20 minutes while building their 10-point halftime cushion. Carr had 11 points while hitting 4-of-5 field goals, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, in 17 minutes of action in the first half.
Julian Strawther hit a three-pointer at the 18:45 mark to pull the Bulldogs to within nine points (49-40), but that marked the final time that Gonzaga trailed by single digits. The Longhorns responded with a 12-2 spurt over the next two minutes to increase their margin to 61-42 after a Hunter three-pointer with 16:32 left.
The margin did not dip below 16 points for the remainder of the night. The Longhorns pushed their advantage to as much as 23 points (90-67) following a Dillon Mitchell dunk at the 3:13 mark.
Texas returns to action on Monday, Nov. 21, when it faces Northern Arizona in a neutral-site game in Edinburg, Texas. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. Central at Bert Ogden Arena, and the game will be televised nationally by Longhorn Network.