University of Missouri
Texas
Texas Tops Tigers, 72-70
2/17/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb 17, 2002
By R.B. FALLSTROM
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - T.J. Ford had 18 points, 12 assists and a career-best five steals as Texas took control early and hung on in the final minute for a 72-70 victory over Missouri on Sunday.
Ford, a freshman, exceeded his nation-leading average of 8.65 assists per game in helping the Longhorns (17-8, 8-4 Big 12) hand Missouri only its second loss at home. He was 8-for-9 at the free throw line and clinched it for Texas, hitting two free throws with 5.1 seconds left that made it 72-69.
Ford is attempting to become the first freshman to lead the country in assists and has a school-record 13 double-figure assist games.
Deginald Erskin added a career-best 18 points, including four first-half dunks, and Brian Boddicker had 11 points as Texas beat Missouri (18-8, 7-5) for the third straight time. The teams entered the game tied for third place in the Big 12.
Texas led by as many as 12 points in the first half, and by 11 with 8:58 remaining. Missouri cut the gap to one with a 15-5 run, getting nine points from Rickey Paulding to make it 66-65 with 3:54 left.
But Missouri, which committed a season-worst 22 turnovers, missed several golden opportunities to go ahead in the final seconds. Paulding, a 77-percent free throw shooter, missed a pair of free throws with 10.2 seconds to go and Missouri down by a point. Missouri got the ball back after Brandon Mouton was called for traveling on a wild scramble for the ball on the ensuing inbounds, but Paulding stepped out of bounds after taking a pass from Kareem Rush.
Rush also missed three shots, all with Missouri trailing by one, in the final 1:08.
Rush led Missouri with 16 points, but was only 4-for-19. He had a season-best 30 points at Nebraska on Wednesday. Paulding had 16 points.
Missouri is 12-2 in the Hearnes Center. The other loss was 83-65 to then No. 15 Iowa on Dec. 15.
Ford had eight assists and three steals in the first half alone, helping Texas take a 39-29 lead. He also had four points in a 9-0 run late in the half that gave the Longhorns a 12-point advantage, their biggest of the half.
Missouri shot only 32 percent in the first half and had 14 turnovers - its season average.
