Northern Colorado Bears vs Texas Longhorns Box Score on Nov 17, 2021

Tre Mitchell scored 16 points to lead a balanced scoring attack as No. 8 Texas bounced back with a dominating 62-49 win over visiting Northern Colorado on Wednesday in a first-round game in the inaugural Abe Lemons Classic in Austin, Texas.

Texas (2-1) jumped back on the winning track after a loss at No. 1 Gonzaga on Saturday, taking out its frustrations on Northern Colorado while employing the lessons learned in that defeat, especially in the first half.

Timmy Allen added 10 points and game-high eight rebounds for the Longhorns, who won despite shooting just 42 percent from the floor and 22 percent (4 of 18) from beyond the arc.

Daylen Kountz paced Northern Colorado with 14 points. Kur Jongkuch contributed 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, and Matt Johnson added 12 points for the Bears (3-2).

The Longhorns used a stifling defense and a domination on the glass to help build a 37-15 lead at the break. Texas finished the first half on a 12-2 run as the Bears shot 1 of 8 from the floor and committed five of their 12 turnovers over the last 7:18 of the half.

Allen led the Longhorns with eight points over the first 20 minutes, with Christian Bishop adding seven points while doing the dirty work in the paint. Texas outrebounded Northern Colorado 21-11 in the half when it forged a 9-0 edge on the offensive boards and scored 13 second-chance points.

Kountz paced Northern Colorado with six points in the half. The Bears, who have led the Big Sky Conference in 3-point shooting percentage the past two seasons, made just one of their nine shots from beyond the arc by halftime.

Northern Colorado played the Longhorns even over the first 15 minutes of the second half but could never get closer than 15 points to the lead. Texas scored only one point over the final 3:25 of the game.

The Abe Lemons Classic is named after the former Texas coach who died in 2002 and is part of new Longhorns coach Chris Beard's attempt to reconnect the program with its past and its basketball traditions.

--Field Level Media