Matas Vokietaitis Scores 26 as No. 7 Texas Beats Grambling 93-62
The Texas center went 8-of-12 from the field and 10-of-12 at the line in 23 minutes, and the Longhorns scored 55 in the first half at Moody Center.
Photo: Texas Athletics. Matas Vokietaitis, official roster photo. Card design: The Dyme.
Matas Vokietaitis scored 26 points in 23 minutes as No. 7 Texas beat Grambling 93-62 on Monday night at Moody Center in Austin, per the ESPN box score. He shot 8-of-12 from the field and 10-of-12 at the line with nine rebounds, four on the offensive glass. Texas moved to 3-0, all at home. Grambling fell to 1-1.
Texas came in at No. 7 in the AP poll released through games of Nov. 8, down from No. 5, per NCAA.com. Grambling was unranked.
Joe Sterling scored 13 off the bench on 4-of-6 shooting, 3-of-4 from three. Marcus Spears Jr. added 12 and Elyjah Freeman 11 with six rebounds. David Punch had 10 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Bo Ogden hit two threes for eight. Texas reserves scored 41 points and the starting five scored 52, by our count from the ESPN player box.
Mekhi Fitts led Grambling with 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting and six rebounds. Antonio Shannon added 12 and seven rebounds. Brandon Hardy and Isaiah Howard scored nine each, Howard on 4-of-4 shooting.
55 points before halftime
Vokietaitis opened the scoring with a free throw 21 seconds in, per the ESPN play-by-play. Sterling's third free throw on a three-shot trip at 14:04 of the first half made it 13-3, the first double-digit lead, by our count. Vokietaitis' dunk at 10:37 made it 26-5, the first 20-plus-point lead. Ogden's 24-foot three, assisted by Spears, at 1:20 made it 54-23, the first 30-plus-point lead, by our count. Texas led 55-27 at the half.
A Vokietaitis free throw at 9:56 of the second half made it 81-41, the first 40-point lead, and Punch's driving layup at 8:28 made it 85-41, the 44-point largest lead ESPN lists. Texas won the second half 38-35, per the ESPN linescore. The final margin was 31. Grambling never led, and ESPN lists zero lead changes.
42 free throws and 46 paint points
Texas shot 30-of-59 from the field (51%), 6-of-16 from three (38%) and 27-of-42 at the line (64%), per ESPN. Grambling shot 23-of-64 (36%), 6-of-26 from three (23%) and 10-of-15 at the line (67%), with 24 fouls to Texas' 16.
Texas attempted 42 free throws to Grambling's 15, and the gap in makes, 27 to 10, was worth 17 points of the 31-point margin, by our count. Texas won the paint 46-18, the glass 45-34 and the turnover battle 8-13, with 11 steals and 14 fast-break points to Grambling's zero, per ESPN.
| Category | Texas | Grambling |
|---|---|---|
| Field goals | 30-59 (51%) | 23-64 (36%) |
| 3-pointers | 6-16 (38%) | 6-26 (23%) |
| Free throws | 27-42 (64%) | 10-15 (67%) |
| Rebounds | 45 | 34 |
| Offensive rebounds | 13 | 12 |
| Assists | 13 | 9 |
| Turnovers | 8 | 13 |
| Steals | 11 | 4 |
| Blocks | 4 | 5 |
| Points in the paint | 46 | 18 |
| Points off turnovers | 15 | 9 |
| Fast-break points | 14 | 0 |
| Largest lead | 44 | 0 |
Where the margin came from
Both teams made six threes, so the 31-point margin came from inside the arc and the line: Texas made 24 two-point field goals to Grambling's 17, a 14-point edge, and 17 more points at the line, by our count from the ESPN box. Vokietaitis made 10 free throws by himself, matching Grambling's team total.
Sources:
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