Walker leads Kent State past Texas 63-58 (Dec 27, 2016)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Jaylin Walker scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half, helping Kent State defeat Texas 63-58 on Tuesday night.
Deon Edwin scored 15 for Kent State, including 13 in the second half, and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Jarrett Allen led Texas with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Kerwin Roach, Jr. added 13 points.
Forward Jimmy Hall, Ken State's leader this season in scoring (18.3 points a game) and rebounding (11.3), left the game with four fouls with 14:54 remaining. The Golden Flashes (8-5) trailed by six at the time, but rallied without Hall, converting their first three 3-point baskets of the game after nine misses to take a 42-39 lead. Walker added a pair of baskets for a seven-point lead.
Texas (6-6) closed to within a point three times during the final 2:30 with two baskets by Tevin Mack and one by Allen. But Walker matched the first two and Hall (11 points, 11 rebounds) matched the third.
Texas had the ball trailing by three with less than 10 seconds remaining, but Hall blocked a driving shot by Eric Davis, Jr.
Texas led 29-25 at halftime despite shooting 35.7 percent from the field, hitting just 1 of 10 3-point attempts, and missing half of their 16 free throws. The Longhorns also committed 10 turnovers.
But Kent State was even more dismal, hitting 26.5 percent with 11 turnovers. The Golden Flashes missed all eight of their 3-point shots.
BIG PICTURE
Kent State: The Golden Flashes rank 254th in the nation in field-goal shooting accuracy. On the other hand, they hustle enough to lead the nation in offensive rebounds with nearly 18 a game, including 34 during a loss to Oregon State. Kent State snagged 22 offensive boards against Texas, including seven in the first three minutes, and turned them into 18 second chance points.
Texas: Freshman Andrew Jones made a recent move toward becoming the point guard the Longhorns need when he averaged 16.5 points, 6.5 assists and 2.5 steals against Arkansas and Alabama-Birmingham in consecutive games. Then Jones had a rough night against Kent State, committing six turnovers, including two during a span of 15 seconds in the second half.
UP NEXT
Kent State hosts Ball State on Jan. 3 in their Mid-American Conference opener.
Texas is at Kansas State on Friday in the Big 12 Conference opener.
