Associated Press
AUSTIN -- Texas got some unexpected scoring from guards Justin Mason and Dogus Balbay, and the No. 6 Longhorns beat Texas Tech 95-83 on Wednesday night to avoid a three-game losing streak.
Mason scored 18 points and Balbay had 13, helping the Longhorns bounce back from losses at Kansas State and Connecticut last week that cost them the nation's top ranking.
Mason and Balbay went into the game averaging just more than seven points between them. But with defenses concentrating on stopping Damion James and Dexter Pittman down low, the Texas guards finally took advantage of the space given to them to knock down shots.
James had 28 points and 13 rebounds for the Longhorns (18-2, 4-1 Big 12) to set the Big 12 record for career double-doubles with 48.
John Roberson scored 27 points for Texas Tech (14-6, 2-4).
Texas reached No. 1 for the first time in school history before losing two in a row last week. It took the two players least likely to score to provide the offensive punch the Longhorns needed to end the brief skid.
Mason was the catalyst for the Longhorns in the first half with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Lightly regarded as a shooter, the senior made the most of extra room the Red Raiders were giving him with a 3-pointer, short jumpers and drives to the basket.
Balbay, a tough defender who is usually better suited to driving and passing, also found a seldom-seen shooting touch with his mid-range jumper.
Mason and Balbay combined to go 13 of 20 from the floor. They also handed out 12 of Texas' 15 assists.
Even with those two scoring, the Red Raiders built an early lead. Texas Tech made eight 3-pointers in the first half -- the most Texas had allowed in a game all season -- and led 50-42 when Nick Okorie hit from long range. Roberson made four 3-pointers in the half.
Texas cut the lead to 50-47 by halftime behind a 3-pointer by Jordan Hamilton and Pittman's tip at the buzzer.
In the second, the Texas defense pushed out to the perimeter and the Red Raiders attempted just one 3-pointer in the first nine minutes. Mason fed Balbay for a fast-break dunk. Balbay then sliced through the lane for a layup that put Texas up 64-60 with just over 13 minutes to play.
Texas finally created some separation behind six straight points from James and a 3-pointer by Avery Bradley that put the Longhorns ahead 80-69.
James took over the scoring down the stretch, finding more and more space to move under the basket and grab rebounds as the game wore on. He broke the Big 12 double-doubles record he shared with former Texas All-American Chris Mihm (1998-2000).
Texas, one of the worst free-throwing shooting teams in the country, struggled again, hitting just 16 of 29 from the line.
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Oklahoma 89, Iowa State 84: NORMAN, Okla. -- With its top two scorers injured and in street clothes, Oklahoma built a big lead, then held on to beat Iowa State 89-84 Wednesday night behind Tommy Mason-Griffin and Cade Davis.
Mason-Griffin scored 38 points and Davis added 24 for the Sooners (12-8, 3-3), who are 10-0 at home and 2-8 on the road.
Oklahoma won without guard Willie Warren (17.6) and forward Tony Crocker (12.3), both out with sprained right ankles.
Iowa State (12-8, 1-4) had six double-figure scorers, led by Diante Garrett's 17.
Craig Brackins, who had been averaging 16.0 points and 7.8 rebounds, was held to 13 points and six rebounds.
A 14-0 run in the first half, in which Davis scored nine and Mason-Griffin five, gave Oklahoma a 30-15 lead. The Sooners later went ahead by 21 points, 48-27, late in the half.
Oklahoma led by 18 points early in the second half, but Iowa State cut the deficit to three points four times in the second half, the final time with 6 seconds left. The Sooners clinched it by making 7 of 8 free throws in the final two minutes.
Oklahoma's two injured starters were replaced by sophomore guard Ray Willis, in his first career start, and senior forward Ryan Wright, starting for the seventh time this season. Willis was his team's leading rebounder with seven. Wright had six rebounds and did much of the defending against Brackins.
WOMEN
No. 22 Iowa State 63, No. 11 Oklahoma 56: AMES, Iowa -- Anna Prins and Kelsey Bolte each scored 15 points, leading No. 22 Iowa State to a 63-56 victory over No. 11 Oklahoma on Wednesday night for its second straight victory over a ranked opponent.
Alison Lacey added 12 for the Cyclones (16-3, 4-2), who have won four consecutive games after an 0-2 start to the conference season.
Oklahoma (14-5, 4-2) cut a 12-point halftime deficit to 38-35 with 10 1/2 minutes to play and looked to be making a final push.
But Prins, who was 1 of 12 from the field in ISU's win over No. 19 Texas last Saturday, scored six straight points and put the Cyclones back in control. Bolte then had a scoring run of her own, including a 3-pointer from the corner that pushed the lead to 55-46 with 2:57 to play.
Nyeshia Stevenson led Oklahoma in scoring with 14 points. Abi Olajuwon added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
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No. 6 Nebraska 89, Texas Tech 47: LUBBOCK -- Kelsey Griffin had 20 points and 10 rebounds for her fifth straight double-double to lead No. 6 Nebraska to a 89-47 win over Texas Tech on Wednesday night.
Nebraska (18-0, 5-0 Big 12) is off to the best start of any Big 12 team since the conference's inception in 1996-97. The Huskers and top-ranked Connecticut are the only unbeatens left in Division I.
The Cornhuskers, who entered the Top 10 for the first time in school history on Jan. 18, never trailed and led by 20 or more points throughout the second half.
Freshman Christine Hyde scored a career-high 15 points to led Texas Tech (13-6, 1-4). It was the worst loss of the season for the Lady Raiders. They lost 91-53 to Tennessee in November.
Texas Tech missed all 12 of its 3-pointers, while Nebraska hit 7 of 16 from beyond the arc.
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