Graduate guard Tramon Mark registered a game-high 24 points, and freshman guard Tre Johnson added 23 points to lead Texas (17-13, 6-11 SEC) to an 87-82 overtime win at No. 25/nr Mississippi State (20-10, 8-9 SEC) at Humphrey Coliseum on Tuesday night.
The Longhorns earned their fourth victory over an AP-ranked opponent this season, as they previously claimed wins over No. 22 Missouri, No. 13 Texas A&M and No. 15 Kentucky.
Mark, who missed the previous game against Georgia on Saturday with a back injury, came off the bench and converted 9-of-13 field goals, including tying his collegiate career high by hitting 4-of-6 from three-point range, and 2-of-2 free throws to go along with four rebounds and one block in 29 minutes. Johnson hit 8-of-16 field goals, including 6-of-9 from three-point range, while posting four assists, three rebounds and one steal in a career-high 43 minutes. Senior Arthur Kaluma recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in 35 minutes, and graduate Kadin Shedrick added 10 points (3-6 FG, 1-1 threes), four boards and two blocks in 22 minutes.
After a Johnson layup gave the Longhorns an early 4-3 advantage at the 17:29 mark, Mississippi State used a 9-0 spurt over the next four minutes to grab a 12-4 cushion following a Keshawn Murphy layup with 13:20 remaining. Texas answered with a 14-3 run over the next four minutes to take an 18-15 lead after a Mark three-pointer at the 9:22 mark.
A Jordan Pope jumper gave the Longhorns a 22-21 advantage with 6:54 left, but the Bulldogs used a 9-3 spurt over the next two-plus minutes to grab a 30-24 cushion following a R.J. Melendez three-pointer at the 4:38 mark. Mississippi State built a 32-26 lead after a Cameron Matthews dunk with 3:50 remaining, before Texas closed the half with an 11-0 run to take a 37-32 advantage into the break.
The Bulldogs trimmed the deficit to 40-36 following a Matthews layup at the 17:57 mark, before the Longhorns used an 11-4 spurt over the next three minutes to build a 51-40 cushion after a Pope layup with 14:53 left. Texas extended the margin to 54-42 following a Shedrick three-pointer at the 13:24 mark, but Mississippi State scored eight-straight points to cut the gap to 54-50 after a Murphy layup with 10:38 remaining.
The Longhorns took a 58-51 lead following a Shedrick free throw at the 9:46 mark. A pair of Josh Hubbard free throws pulled the Bulldogs to within 62-59 with 5:51 remaining, before Texas scored six straight points to take a 68-59 advantage after a Mark three-pointer at the 4:44 mark. A Shedrick free throw gave the Longhorns a 69-60 cushion with 3:52 remaining, before Mississippi State scored seven-straight points to cut the deficit to 69-67 after a Murphy layup at the 1:15 mark. Texas increased its lead to 71-67 following a Mark jumper with 16 seconds left, but Hubbard hit two free throws with 13 seconds remaining and Riley Kugel converted a layup after a steal with nine seconds to force overtime.
Texas took an 82-77 lead following a Shedrick follow dunk at the 1:07 mark, before the Bulldogs rallied to score five-straight points and tie the score at 82-82 after a Kugel three-point play with 32 seconds left. The Longhorns did not allow a point the rest of the way and used a single free throw from Shedrick, a pair of free throws by Mark and two free throws from Kaluma to seal the victory.
Texas is back on the court when it hosts Oklahoma on Saturday, March 8. Tip is set for 7 p.m. CT in Moody Center, and the game will be televised nationally by SEC Network.
