FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Max Abmas had 19 of his 21 points after halftime, including the last 13 for Texas in a 77-66 victory over No. 25 TCU on Saturday.
Abmas put the Longhorns (15-7, 4-5 Big 12) ahead to stay with a three-point play with 3:25 left that broke a 64-all tie. That layup and free throw started a personal 11-0 run that included two 3-pointers, and he added a pair of free throws in the final minute.
Dylan Disu had 15 points for Texas, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Dillon Mitchell had 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Emanuel Miller had 15 points for the Horned Frogs (16-6, 5-4). Avery Anderson added 13, while Trevian Tennyson and Jakobe Coles each had 10.
Mitchell had a three-point play with 7:05 left, making a tiebreaking short turnaround jumper while being fouled on what was Texas’ third shot in the same possession. Tyrese Hunter then had a steal that led a layup by Abmas, the former Oral Roberts transfer who is the Division I active career scoring leader with 2,955 points.
Disu had bookend 3-pointers in a 10-0 run for the Longhorns in the first half that put them ahead after quickly falling behind by double digits.
After his 3-pointer with 8:24 left in the first half, Disu had a steal and a breakaway layup for a 25-all tie. He then assisted on Abmas’ layup with 7:14 left before adding another long-range basket.
The Longhorns led 43-32 after scoring the final eight points of the first half, including two dunks by Mitchell. They trailed only once after that, when Jameer Nelson Jr. made a three-point play with 8:58 left.
BIG PICTURE
Texas: The Longhorns played their fifth of six consecutive games against ranked opponents, and are 3-2 in that stretch. They were coming off consecutive losses, including in overtime at home to fourth-ranked Houston on Monday night.
TCU: The Horned Frogs scored the game’s first seven points and led by as many as 10. But they have now lost two of their last three games at home.
RETIRING 34
The Horned Frogs at halftime retired the No. 34 jersey of Kenrich Williams, the Oklahoma City Thunder forward who played three seasons at TCU from 2014-18. It is the fifth jersey retired by TCU. He had 1,125 points and 877 rebounds in his 102 games.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
TCU’s return to the Top 25 could end up being only one week, even though the Frogs were coming off an 85-78 win over No. 15 Texas Tech. The Longhorns were in the first 10 polls this season, but were unranked for the third poll in a row when not getting any votes last week.
UP NEXT
The next game for both teams is against 12th-ranked Iowa State. Texas hosts the Cyclones on Tuesday night. The Horned Frogs don’t have a midweek game before traveling to play at Hilton Coliseum on Feb. 10.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
