Disu scores career-high 33 points, No. 25 Texas survives at Cincinnati 74-73

Updated Jan. 9, 2024 10:09 p.m. ET

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CINCINNATI (AP) — Dylan Disu scored a career-high 33 points and Max Abmas hit a go-ahead jumper with eight seconds remaining to help No. 25 Texas beat Cincinnati 74-73 on Tuesday night.

Abmas scored 15 points for the Longhorns (12-3, 1-1 Big 12), who were coming off a 78-67 loss at home to Texas Tech.

“We'll continue to grow from it,” Abmas said. “It was really about seeing how we were going to respond. It was a big moment for us. The guys responded right away, bringing the intensity for a full 40 minutes.”

Simas Lukosius scored 19 points and Viktor Lakhin had 17 points for the Bearcats, who were bidding to start 2-0 in their inaugural Big 12 season after a 71-60 upset win at No. 12 BYU.

“We were going to have our hands full with a really good team on their home court,” Longhorns coach Rodney Terry said. “Our guys did a good job working the game, really for 40 minutes.”

Lakhin scored seven of his 10 first-half points in the first four minutes of the game.

Disu stepped up for the Longhorns with a season-high 19 points in the first half. His previous high was 17 against LSU on Dec. 16.

“Just taking the jump shots when they weren't closing all the way out was what I looked to do throughout the game,” Disu said. “I just got my opportunities. It worked out really well for us.”

His previous best for points was 29 against Kentucky while playing for Vanderbilt on Feb. 17, 2021.

The Bearcats (12-3, 1-1) shot a blistering 5 of 8 from 3-point range in the first half to keep the score close.

Texas led 41-39 at halftime.

“Losing always hurts,” Bearcats coach Wes Miller said. “When you lose a one-possession game it stings in a really serious way. We kept fighting all night.”

The Bearcats still couldn't stop Disu in the second half, but they answered every Longhorns run.

Lukosius hit back-to-back jumpers to put the Bearcats ahead 73-70 with 55 seconds remaining.

Disu's jumper cut the Longhorns' deficit to one.

“Disu was everything we could handle,” Miller said. “We talked about everything we could do at halftime. We definitely had a problem with Disu and the high ball screen.”

With 24.4 seconds remaining, John Newman III missed the front end of a one-and-one, setting up Abmas' game-winner. Lukosius missed a jumper at the buzzer for Cincinnati.

The Bearcats and Longhorns met in the regular season for the first time. The Bearcats won two prior NCAA Tournament matchups in 1963 and 2012.

“It got really loud at times where we really couldn't hear anything,” Abmas said. “It's in those moments especially where we had to stay connected. I thought we did a good job of that.”

BLAME GAME

The officials might have missed a travel by Abmas just prior to the winning shot, but Miller refused to comment on the non-call. He was more concerned that Newman III would get blamed for his missed free throw.

“I have never coached a player who wants to miss a free throw,” Miller said. “Nobody is going to beat themselves up more than John Newman. One missed free throw doesn’t define the game."

BIG PICTURE:

Texas: A healthy Disu could be a big boost for the Longhorns. The 6-foot-9 forward played in his sixth game since suffering a left foot injury in the NCAA Tournament. “If we had him in that Miami game (in the Elite Eight), we might have been in Houston (for the Final Four),” Terry said. “He's playing the way he ended the year last year.”

Cincinnati: The Bearcats have eight scholarship players with career-highs of 20 or more points, second-most in the nation behind TCU. That depth was evident on Tuesday with the Bearcats holding a 30-4 advantage over Texas in points off the bench.

UP NEXT

Texas: At West Virginia on Saturday.

Cincinnati: At Baylor on Saturday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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