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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Kenny Taylor scored 23 points and Texas (No. 12 ESPN/USA Today, No. 15 AP) used relentless defensive pressure to roll to a 97-52 win over Centenary on Wednesday night.

The Longhorns (8-2) came back from a tough 89-88 loss at Wake Forest last weekend determined to improve their defense during a five-game holiday homestand.

Texas pressed the overmatched Gents (2-7) from end-to-end from the opening tipoff, tying a school record by allowing just 12 points in the first half. Texas records date to the 1949-50 season.

Kevin Taylor scored 14 points to lead Centenary, including four 3-pointers in the second half.

The Longhorns scored virtually at will against a Gents lineup that didn't start a player taller than 6-foot-6. Kenny Taylor was 10-of-13 from the field and Texas turned 25 turnovers into 35 points.

Texas' 6-10 center LaMarcus Aldridge scored 19 points and started a 17-3 run that blew the game open when he blocked a shot and then raced down court to finish the breakaway with an alley-oop dunk on a pass from fellow freshman Daniel Gibson. Aldridge had four blocks in the first half.

Soon, the Longhorns started hitting from outside as well. Gibson and Sydmill Harris hit 3-pointers and Kenny Taylor hit two in the half, including a 25-footer that swished through at the buzzer giving Texas a 42-12 lead.

Meanwhile, the Gents hit just one basket over the final 10 minutes of the first half, going 5-of-24 from the field. The Longhorns shot 63 percent for the game.

Texas kept up the pressure in the second half. After three minutes of the second half, the Gents had more fouls (15) than points (14).

Freshman Mike Williams added 13 points and 10 rebounds in his first significant playing time this season, becoming the fourth Longhorn to record a double-double this season.

Postgame quotes
Texas Head Coach, Rick Barnes
ON DANIEL GIBSON: Daniel has made an effort to really try to improve. We want him to play hard, with no fouls, play with his hands up and be in position to make things happen. He did make a few steals tonight and pushed the ball on offense, which made some things happen.

ON THE TEAM: We have worked very hard the last two days. We went three hours on Monday and watched the tape on Sunday. It showed that we did not play well on defense. We had a tough workout yesterday and I was almost afraid it would affect us tonight. The guards were more physical tonight. Overall, I think Kenny Taylor was the player of the game on both ends.

P.J. Tucker, Sophomore Forward
ON TEXAS' IMPROVEMENT: Coach Barnes said this game was about us, so we wanted to bounce back and improve on defense. Close games are fun, but even when we're ahead we still want to come out, play hard, have fun and get better every time.

Kenny Taylor, Senior Guard
ON TEXAS PLAY: This game was about getting better as a unit. We want to play hard every night, but tonight was about improving on defense. We all knew that we let our last game slip away because of our defensive effort. Tonight, we improved on our intensity. Everyone was getting in the passing lanes and working hard on defense.

LaMarcus Aldridge, Freshman Center
ON TONIGHT'S GAME: Tonight, we wanted to come out and play hard. We were aggressive from the start, driving into the paint and posting up tough.

Centenary head coach, Kevin Johnson
ON PLAYING TEXAS: Coming into the game I knew the score would not be my major concern. I wanted to get value out of the experience of playing the 15th ranked team in the country. We are a new team with eight new guys. We had seven seniors last year. The main concern was to take away experience, regardless of the score.

ON THE GAME: They changed up the defense and pressed us a lot. We didn't handle it very well. On the offensive end, Texas has hurt all of their opponents with three-point shooting. They knock down their open looks. They don't miss.

Chad Maclies, Senior Forward
ON PLAYING TEXAS:
"This game is not completely negative for us. We wanted to go out and show our abilities, and Texas showed us what we can and can't do."