Jan 16, 2003

Box Score

By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer

WACO, Texas (AP) - Texas keeps finding the perfect mix to win games.

Brandon Mouton keyed the game-turning run in the second half, T.J. Ford kept making big plays and the bench contributed six 3-pointers and 30 points as the fourth-ranked Longhorns rallied to beat Baylor 82-71 on Wednesday night.

"It was different guys doing what they needed to do for us," said fifth-year Texas coach Rick Barnes, who is 10-0 against Baylor.

The Longhorns (11-2, 2-0 Big 12) won their sixth straight game since a 73-70 loss at then-No. 1 Arizona in their last road game, a month ago.

Texas hadn't led since making the opening basket - and had trailed Baylor (9-4, 0-2) by as many as 11 points before halftime - until Mouton scored seven of his 18 points in a 16-1 second-half run.

Mouton finally put Texas back in front, breaking a 45-all tie by driving the baseline for a reverse layup. He was fouled and added the free throw with 14:48 left.

Mouton extended the game-turning run and a stretch of 11 straight points with a 12-foot baseline jumper off an inbounds pass from Ford, who had eight assists and 18 points.

"We made big shots when we had to and did a good job of getting out in transition," Mouton said.

"The biggest key was getting everybody on the team involved," Ford said. "The bench trusts one another and everybody is willing to shoot."

Brian Boddicker had 17 points and Sydmill Harris added 11 for Texas, and both reserves made three 3-pointers. James Thomas had 10 points and 11 rebounds, his seventh double-double of the season.

Texas was 17-of-25 from the field (68 percent) in the second half, its best shooting half of the season. The Longhorns finished 32-of-59 (54 percent).

Terrance Thomas had 17 points and John Lucas added 16 for Baylor, which is 1-8 against Top 25 teams since a 62-49 win over then-No. 7 Iowa State in the opening round of the 2001 Big 12 tournament.

When Mouton made a short floater with 11:09 left, Texas had its largest lead, 57-46.

Baylor made five of its first six 3-pointers, building a 22-11 lead when Lucas hit a long-range shot with a defender's hand in his face with 12:05 left in the first half.

"It was a great start, but their depth inside, and their depth period wears on you," Baylor coach Dave Bliss said. "That is why they have terrific stats in the second half."

The Bears couldn't keep up that pace, missing seven straight 3-pointers until another hot spurt ended Texas' run in the second half.

Kenny Taylor, R.T. Guinn and Thomas hit consecutive 3-pointers in a two-minute span midway through the second half. That was part of a 10-0 run that got the Bears within 57-56, but they never pulled even.

Thomas ended the Bears' spurt with a 15-foot baseline jumper. After Guinn missed a 3-pointer, Ford drove the court for a short jumper to stretch the lead back to 61-56.

"We've got to learn how to finish games and get over the hump," Lucas said.

The Longhorns had wiped out their first-half deficit with a 10-2 run, scoring eight points off three turnovers.

After Ford saved the ball from going out of bounds, he fed Boddicker in the left corner for a 3-pointer to get Texas within 28-26. Ford also had two more highlight-worthy plays before halftime even though the Longhorns didn't catch up until after the break.

Ford had a flying one-handed putback slam of a miss by Harris. Then, after rebounding a Baylor miss, he drove the court and moved around Matt Sayman in the lane for a short jumper to make it 36-35.