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  • No. 13 Texas Edges No. 20 Texas Tech in a Big 12 Tournament Thriller

No. 13 Texas Edges No. 20 Texas Tech in a Big 12 Tournament Thriller

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Basketball

Senior point guard Matt Coleman III posted a team-high 19 points and converted a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds left to lead No. 13/16 Texas (18-7) to a 67-66 victory against No. 20/22 Texas Tech (17-10) on Friday night at the T-Mobile Center in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship quarterfinals. With the win, the Longhorns advance to face No. 11/12 Kansas in the semifinals on Friday (8:30 p.m. CT, ESPN2).

Coleman hit 7-of-16 field goals and 3-of-4 free throws while adding six assists and two steals in 39 minutes. Senior guard Jase Febres registered a season-high 15 points while knocking down 5-of-9 from three-point range in 24 minutes.

Redshirt junior guard Andrew Jones tallied 11 points (3-6 threes) and four assists, and senior forward Jericho Sims posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards to go along with a career-high four blocked shots in 29 minutes. Sophomore forward Kai Jones also recorded 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 27 minutes.

Texas Tech used an early 8-0 spurt to build a 17-7 advantage after a Marcos Santos-Silva layup at the 13:41 mark. Trailing 30-22 following a Tyreek Smith layup with 4:08 left, the Longhorns closed the half on a 12-0 run to take a 34-30 lead into the break.

The Red Raiders opened the second half with an 18-4 spurt to grab a 48-38 cushion after a T.J. Shannon Jr. dunk with 12:32 remaining. Texas answered with a 19-8 run over the next five minutes to take a 57-56 lead following a Febres three-pointer at the 7:36 mark.

Leading 62-61 with 5:04 left, Texas Tech scored back-to-back baskets to increase its margin to 66-61 after a Kevin McCullar layup at the 4:00 mark. The Longhorns held the Red Raiders scoreless the rest of the way while getting a Kai Jones put-back and a Coleman layup to close to within 66-65 with 59 seconds remaining.

Brock Cunningham came up with a huge steal on Texas Tech's next possession to setup the dramatic finish by Coleman on the offensive end. Coleman was fouled by Kyler Edwards on a drive to the basket with 1.8 seconds left and calmly sank both free throws. Sims then intercepted the long inbounds pass to seal the win.