Johnson's big 3-pointer late helps carry Texas past North Carolina State
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Freshman Tre Johnson scored 18 points shooting 4 for 6 from 3-point range and Texas beat North Carolina State 63-59 in an SEC/ACC Challenge contest on Wednesday night.
Johnson finished 7-of-15 shooting overall. Jordan Pope scored 13 points, Tramon Mark 10 and Arthur Kaluma grabbed 15 rebounds; one shy of tying a career high for the Longhorns (7-1).
Reserve Dontrez Styles scored 17 points, Marcus Hill scored 16 points and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield 10 for the Wolfpack (5-3).
Johnson's 3-pointer from the right side of the court with 1:43 left to play broke a 57-all tie and Texas led the rest of the way, though not without some frantic moments.
Styles made a layup to reduce North Carolina State's deficit to a point with 1:20 left. After getting fouled, Texas' Chendall Weaver made 1 of 2 foul shots for a 61-59 lead.
Jayden Taylor missed a jumper on the Wolfpack's next possession, but off the miss, NC State maintained possession as it went off a Texas player. On the inbounds from the baseline, however, Michael O’Connell threw the ball out of bounds and Texas took possession.
O’Connell fouled Pope who came up short on the front end of a 1-and-1. Then, out of an NC State timeout and with four seconds left, Taylor drove a crowded lane and had his layup attempt blocked with two hands by Kadin Shedrick.
Weaver recovered Shedrick's block and sprinted the other way for a dunk and the final points.
Texas moved its record to 3-2 all-time against North Carolina State.
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