Longhorns Country

Longhorns in Control vs. Xavier at Halftime Behind Marcus Carr's 15 Points

Despite forward Dylan Disu being ruled out early, the Texas Longhorns found themselves in full control headed into halftime of Friday's meeting with the Xavier Musketeers in the Sweet 16.

Zach Dimmitt

© William Purnell, USA TODAY
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KANSAS CITY, MO. - The Texas Longhorns built a big halftime lead during Friday's meeting with the Xavier Musketeers in the Sweet 16 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

Behind 15 points from guard Marcus Carr and a miracle half-court shot from forward Timmy Allen at the halftime buzzer, the Longhorns led 42-25 headed into the locker room.

However, not everything was looking up for Texas to begin the game. The Longhorns were hit with an early gut-punch, as star forward Dylan Disu exited the game early and was later ruled out due to a bone bruise in his foot. He returned to the bench in a walking boot.

The Longhorns were led by Carr's 15 points and four assists while forward Christian Bishop stepped up with 10 points and five rebounds in Disu's absence. Allen, with his half-court heave, finished the half with eight points and four rebounds.

Xavier was led by big man Jack Nunge (eight points, nine rebounds) while guard Adam Kunkel hit a pair of triples before finishing the half with eight points. Souley Boum, the Musketeers' leading scorer this season, had just two points on 0 of 6 shooting at the half.

Carr got off to a hot start, hitting two quick mid-range jumpers to help Texas build a 6-0 lead. Four more points from him a few minutes later had given the Longhorns a 14-5 lead.

But the Musketeers responded with a triple from Kunkel to help spark a quick 5-0 run to make it a 14-10 Texas lead.

Carr then got back in the scoring column in crazy fashion, hitting a wild fall-away triple after losing the ball to beat the shot clock. The basket gave him 11 points with still half of the first half to play. It didn't stop there though, as he hit another jumper and scored on a drive to the rim to give him 15 points.

However, the Musketeers didn't fold in the final minutes of the half, as Kunkel hit another 3 while Nunge got four quick points of his own to cut the lead to 36-25.

But the half-court shot from Allen killed any momentum the Musketeers had built, as the Longhorns danced back to the locker room.

You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT