Less than two weeks after playing each other in China, Texas and Washington met again in the second round of Battle 4 Atlantis. The Longhorns won Thursday night’s rematch, 82-70, evening this unusual season series after the Huskies took the first game in Shanghai 77-71.
“The last game was our first (of the season), and a lot of guys were maybe a little bit nervous,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “We were over in China and out of our element, and we didn’t quite play like ourselves. Tonight our guys did a better job of executing all around.”
Texas scored 14 unanswered points to build a 22-13 lead midway through the first half, and the Longhorns (2-2) never trailed again. Washington (3-2) whittled a 15-point, first- half deficit down to 51-48 midway through the second half. But a 7-0 Texas run moments later made the score 64-53, and the Huskies could get no closer than six the rest of the way.
“We came up on the short end this time, but I give (Texas) a lot of credit,” Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. “They have obviously improved from the first time we played them in China. We expect them to win a lot of games this year.”
Texas center Cameron Ridley finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double in four games this season. Ridley scored only six points in the first game against Washington, and the Longhorns were outrebounded in that contest by 11.
“I felt good throughout the game,” Ridley said. “I wanted to play aggressively. I know they beat us on the glass in the last game, so I wanted to come out and do my job, which is rebounding and playing aggressively on the inside. We lost the battle in the last game, so we wanted to come out and make sure it didn’t happen again.”
Washington guard Andrew Andrews had a game-high 20 points and Marquese Chriss added 15. DeJounte Murray and David Crisp scored 13 points each, but did so on combined 7-of-22 shooting.
The Huskies were plagued by foul trouble, with four players eventually fouling out. Their replacements could not pick up the scoring slack, as the Longhorns’ bench outscored Washington’s 37-13.
“We’ve lost two in a row here, but I really like our team,” Romar said. “We knew what was coming, to play a loaded field in the Bahamas. It has served as a great measure to see where we are. I think it’s helped point out all our warts right now. It’s up to us collectively go back tomorrow and try to correct the areas where we’re deficient.”
Photos | Atlantis, Paradise Island
