Men's Basketball holds off Kansas State, 61-58
March 12, 2009 Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Texas center Dexter Pittman dominated inside for a second straight game and now the way appears clear for the Longhorns to return to the Big 12 Conference tournament final for a fourth straight year. The 6-foot-10, 298-pound junior finished with 19 points and a career-high 20 rebounds as Texas beat Kansas State 61-58 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference tournament. Pittman's three-point play with 1:14 left put Texas ahead for good at 60-58, and in the final seconds, he grabbed a critical rebound after a Kansas State miss, then hit 1-of-2 free throws with 12.1 seconds left to make it 61-58. Denis Clemente missed a deep 3-point attempt on Kansas State's final possession and Gary Johnson rebounded for the Longhorns at the buzzer. "I knew going into this game, I would have to go in there and rebound and box out because they crash to the board every time," said Pittman, who played 34 minutes. "I'm just playing my role on the team. I'm doing my job. That's my whole mind-set." Baylor, which stunned No. 11 Kansas earlier Thursday, will play Texas in the semifinals on Friday. Texas (22-10) has won 24 straight over the Bears, although Texas coach Rick Barnes dismissed that streak, which started in 1999. "I just know that our players understand when you play against Baylor, they've got an inside-outside attack," Barnes said. "You are going to have to play hard and sustain them for 40 minutes. Every time we have been in games with them, they have been hard-fought games. And they are playing with, I'm sure, loads of confidence." Texas avenged a regular-season defeat at the hands of Kansas State (21-11) and solidified its NCAA tournament status, while the Wildcats – one of a handful of bubble teams from the Big 12 – must wait until Sunday to find out if they'll be in the NCAA tournament or receive a National Invitation Tournament berth. Coach Frank Martin argued passionately that Kansas State deserves an NCAA bid, along with all of the league's bubble teams. He said that taking teams from the Big 12 for the NCAA field shouldn't be an either-or proposition. "If you follow the (Ratings Percentage Index) and you follow the so-called resumes, look at our paperwork and compare it to the other so-called bubble teams," Martin said. "You tell me if ours don't compare to theirs. Don't compare (it) to the Big 12 teams. All the Big 12 teams deserve to be there." Jacob Pullen led Kansas State with 21 points. The Wildcats struggled with their shooting, finishing 19 of 65 for 29.2 percent. Texas blocked 10 of those shots, four of those by Pittman. "They just beat us," Martin said. "It's hard to win when you don't make shots and we obviously didn't make enough shots to beat a good basketball team today." Pittman recorded only the fourth 20-rebound game in Big 12 tournament history but the second in two days, as Kevin Rogers of Baylor grabbed 20 in a first-round win over Nebraska. Both finished one board shy of tying the tournament record of 21, set by Drew Gooden of Kansas in 2002 against Texas Tech. Barnes said he challenged Pittman before the game to be defensive factor by blocking shots and grabbing defensive rebounds. "Dexter, I told him the most impressive thing he has done since he has been at Texas is those 20 rebounds tonight," Barnes said. The performance of Pittman, who had 26 points and 10 rebounds in a first-round win over Colorado, helped Texas overcome a subpar scoring outing by the Longhorns' two leading scorers. A.J. Abrams took only four shots and scored six points, 10 below his average, although he did hit a key 3-pointer to tie the game with 2:06 left, and Damion James fouled out with 3:02 left with seven points, nine below his average. Texas committed 22 turnovers but led for much of the second half before the Wildcats seized the lead at 55-54 when Clemente, who went 4 of 20 from the field, banked in a runner with 3:38 left. That proved to be Kansas State's final field goal. Ron Anderson hit two free throws with 2:16 left to put the Wildcats up 57-54 before Abrams' 3-pointer. Anderson went 1-of-2 from the line with 1:39 left to make it 58-57 before Pittman gave the Longhorns the lead at the 1:14 mark. Besides Pittman, no Texas player scored in double figures, although Varez Ward and Clint Chapman had nine each. Jamar Samuels scored 11 points and Clemente had 10 for Kansas State. POSTGAME NOTES A.J. Abrams Connor Atchley Dogus Balbay Clint Chapman Damion James Dexter Pittman Varez Ward
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