Texas Longhorns Erupt Late, Cruise Past Delaware State Hornets

The Texas Longhorns went neck-and-neck with the Delaware State Hornets on Friday night, but pulled away late in the second half.

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas Longhorns hosted the Delaware State Hornets of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference on Friday night, and found themselves in a tighter battle than they might've expected.

But behind a huge run late, the No. 18 Longhorns quickly turned what was a single-digit game in the second half into a blowout, topping Delaware State 86-59 to secure their second win of the season. 

Texas (2-0) was led by guard Max Abmas, who posted a team-high 19 points. Four Texas starters scored in double figures as the Longhorns went 12 of 22 from 3-point range. Ithiel Horton had another strong game with 18 points on 5 of 6 shooting from deep while Dillon Mitchell (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Tyrese Hunter (13 points, five assists) both played key roles down the stretch.

After leading 57-50 with 10:13 left in the second half, the Longhorns put together a 27-2 scoring run that quickly eliminated any hopes the Hornets had at an upset, as Texas was able to cruise in the final minutes.

"I just think our energy, having a different type of energy, having a different type of mindset coming out," said Mitchell on how the game changed in the second half. "We knew this team was going to come in and try to wreck our season."

Delaware State (0-2) got a game-high 21 points from guard Jevin Muniz. Martaz Robinson (10 points) and Brandon Stone (14 points) were the only other Hornets to reach double figures in scoring.

The Hornets came out strong defensively and stifled Texas early. Overall, the Longhorns turned the ball over 20 times, 18 of which came from the starters.

Luckily for a stagnant Texas offense, Horton picked up where he left off in Monday's season opener by hitting two early triples. Chendall Weaver added a corner 3 of his own and the Longhorns were able to tie things up at 11-11 despite finding little room to work with in the paint after falling behind by four in the first few minutes.

Tyrese Hunter / © Aaron E. Martinez, Austin American-Statesman

Texas started settling in and put together an 8-0 run to take a 19-13 lead, but Delaware State kept things within single digits for the remainder of the half.

Leading all scorers at the half with 12 points, Horton made his third 3-pointer of the half at the 2:13 mark and hit two late free throws to give the Longhorns a 39-30 lead headed into the locker room. The Hornets had proven themselves with some impressive defense by forcing 12 Texas turnovers. The Longhorns had just eight paint points in the first half, instead relying on going 5 of 13 from deep and 14 of 14 from the foul line for most of the scoring.

Horton continued to make plays on both ends to start the second half. He hit his fourth 3 of the game and Abmas poured in two more of his own as the Longhorns finally got their first double-digit lead of the game.

The Longhorns led 44-32 after Hunter found Mitchell for an alley-oop slam, but then Muniz turned it into high gear. He proceeded to score 12 of Delaware State's next 14 points to bring the deficit back to single digits at 53-46 near the midway point of the second half.

But Texas managed to pull away with a 64-51 lead thanks to a few paint buckets and a monstrous dunk from Mitchell along with a fifth 3-pointer from Horton.

Hunter and Abmas took complete control in the final few minutes, as the Longhorns built the lead up to as many as 32 despite the game being close throughout most of the night. 

The Longhorns will host the Rice Owls on Wednesday before traveling to New York City to face Louisville in the first game of the Empire Classic on Sunday, Nov. 19.