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UCLA's Wes Miller, Simas Loukosius as well as Rodney Terry and the Texas players
Wes Miller of UCLA, Simas Loukosius, as well as Rodney Terry, Max Abbas, and Dylan Deso of Texas
A chance to win the first quarter in less than three days fell short for the University of Cincinnati basketball team with eight seconds left Tuesday night when Texas guard Max Abbas scored to change the game's 14th lead.
That put the Longhorns ahead 74-73. No timeout was called and UCLA's Simas Lukošius fired a final shot that missed the mark to deny the Bearcats a win over No. 25 Texas in front of their home crowd.
“I can't say we were at all worried about proving anything,” Lucius said. “We know how good we are and we know we belong. As far as disappointment, we have a few hours to be sad. We knew what we were coming into with the Big 12 and tomorrow we have to come in and get ready for Baylor.”
UCLA and Texas are now 12-3 and 1-1 in the Big 12.
It was Texas' first win in the short three-game series between the schools. With the Longhorns headed to the SEC, this could be their last meeting for a while unless they compete in the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City.
“We knew it was a big moment for us,” Abbas said. “It was a great atmosphere. It was very loud. Sometimes you couldn't really hear anything.”
Dylan Disu, a 6-foot-9 Texas graduate student, got the start for the injured Caden Shedrick, who was out with a back injury. He responded with a game-high 33 points while Abbas's final shot gave him 15 points on the night.
Lukošius led UCLA with 19 points and the Bearcats led 73-70 after back-to-back baskets with 59 seconds left.
5 thoughts on UCLA's first Big 12 loss
1. There is not a lot of D on Disu
DeSo played five games for Texas due to injury. He averaged 11 points and three rebounds. He left with 32 points, going 13-for-23 from the field and 4-for-10 from the arc. It was a career high, surpassing the 29 he scored for Vanderbilt against Kentucky in February 2021.
“It was really loud,” DeSo said of UCLA’s Big 12 cheerleaders. “The student section was great. The atmosphere was great.”
“We definitely had a lot of problems with Deso and Amas and the high ball screen and they kept going at it over and over again,” UCLA coach Wes Miller said. “And the only guy we found that could defend him was Jamil (Reynolds). “That's why he was playing so much. Then he found his way at the other end and scored in the penalty area, and it was good to see him come back to life.”
Reynolds scored 11 points in less than 18 minutes, while Azeez Bandaogo, who was impressive against BYU, was held scoreless.
2. There is no error or timeout at the end
The Bearcats were just one short of beating consecutively ranked teams for the first time in 11 years. Coach Wes Miller was asked about fouling the Texans when they had something to offer before the bonus but said it was hard to point that out in the final seconds.
As for not calling a deadline after Abbas’s result:
“Do you get out quickly before the defense is set or do you get a reprieve and let the defense prepare?” Miller said. “If I were in a coaching clinic I would tell you there is no right answer. What is the best thing for your team? We work on getting up and running fast every day.”
3. Rough night on the line
Down 41-39 at halftime, UCLA was just 6-for-12 at halftime from the charity stripe. They finished the game just 8-for-15 with the last miss allowing Texas possession. The Longhorns fouled out late and eventually put Newman on the line. He played his previous two championships, but missed the last opportunity that opened the door to Abbas's championships.
“No one is going to blame themselves more tonight than John Newman, and that breaks my heart,” Miller said. “It's not fair because he shouldn't have done it. One missed free throw on a one-on-one play doesn't decide the game. We had two save chances to win the game and we didn't get stopped. That's why we lost.”
UCLA missed several layups that might have changed the game.
“You look down and score 73 and I don't know how many layups we missed, but it felt like a ton,” Miller said. “
4. Should fans expect games with 14 lead changes?
“It's a Big 12 game over there, man!” Texas coach Terry said. “That's why it's the best league in the country. There's no night off. Whether you're at home or on the road, you have to come in and get those wins. No one's going to give you a win. We are,” she found out on Saturday. They are possession games. These are difficult matches on pitches.”
5. Close, but no sale
There was a lot of anticipation for the Big 12 opener at Fifth Third Arena and the game was arguably as high as any of UC's games this season. On the other hand, an attendance of 11,014 was announced which is 998 short of the building capacity of 12,012.
“I thought our fans were unbelievable tonight,” Miller said. “That was a high-level environment.”
Next game
UCLA makes its first visit to Waco, Texas, to take on the No. 14 Baylor Bears on Saturday at 8 p.m.
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