 | CONNELL GRANGE SUPPLY WHERE THE CUSTOMER IS STILL THE COMPANY |
|
Printable Page
03/19 21:16 CDT Vokietaitis has 23 as No. 11 seed Texas gets past Dybantsa and
No. 6 BYU 79-71 in March Madness
Vokietaitis has 23 as No. 11 seed Texas gets past Dybantsa and No. 6 BYU 79-71
in March Madness
By ERIK GARCIA GUNDERSEN
Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) --- Matas Vokietaitis had 23 points and 16 rebounds, and
No. 11 seed Texas knocked off sixth-seeded BYU 79-71 on Thursday in the opening
round of the NCAA Tournament, overcoming 35 points from Cougars forward AJ
Dybantsa.
Dybantsa played every minute of the game but it wasn't enough as BYU (23-12)
had its season --- and perhaps his college career --- come to an end. Dybantsa
was two points shy of tying BYU's NCAA Tournament record for points in a game,
held by Danny Ainge and Jimmer Fredette.
The freshman who led the nation in scoring with 25.3 points per game will be a
candidate for the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft if he leaves school.
Texas (19-14) will face either third-seeded Gonzaga or No. 14 seed Kennesaw
State on Saturday in the second round of the West Regional.
Texas won its First Four matchup with N.C. State on Tuesday night. Tramon Mark
hit a fadeaway jumper from just inside the 3-point line with 1.1 seconds left
for a 68-66 victory. Mark added 19 points against BYU.
After Texas jumped out to an early 10-4 lead, BYU rallied to take a brief 21-20
lead on a layup by Robert Wright III, but it was the Cougars' only lead of the
game.
Voikietaitis' dominance was a theme all night as the sophomore center from
Lithuania grabbed as many rebounds (11) as the Cougars had as a team in the
first half. Texas had no answer for the star power of Dybantsa, but BYU had no
answer for Voikietaitis, who had 15 points on 6-for-10 and 11 rebounds in the
first half.
Mark's 3-pointer just before the buzzer gave Texas a 46-37 halftime lead. The
Longhorns took their biggest lead at 68-51 with 11:08 left after a goaltending
call on Dybantsa, but he immediately rallied the Cougars by reeling off eight
straight points to make it 68-59 with 8:02 left.
Dybantsa hit a 3-pointer to make it 70-62 with just over five minutes left.
After grabbing a defensive rebound, Dybantsa took the ball coast to coast and
was fouled. He made the free throws to make it 70-64.
After a BYU timeout, Aleksej Kostic's 3-pointer with 1:12 left made it 75-71
but that was as close as BYU would get in the final moments.
Voikietaitis went 3 for 11 from the free throw line, opening the door for BYU.
He missed two shots with 31 seconds left but blocked Wright's shot on BYU's
next possession. Mark was fouled after grabbing the ensuing loose ball and made
both free throws to ice the game, 77-71.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
