Texas 93, Grambling State 62: Matas Vokietaitis Scores 26 as the No. 7 Longhorns Finish a 3-0 Opening Week
The rout the Moody Center expected is in the books: No. 7 Texas scored 30 of the game's first 35 points, led by 28 at halftime and beat Grambling State 93-62 behind Matas Vokietaitis' 26 points and nine rebounds.
AUSTIN — No. 7 Texas finished its opening week the way it started it. The Longhorns beat Grambling State 93-62 at the Moody Center on Monday night, scoring 30 of the game's first 35 points and never letting the Tigers back within sight of the lead.
Matas Vokietaitis owned the night: 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 10-of-12 at the line, with a game-high nine rebounds — 15 of his points after halftime, when he hit all four of his shots and all seven of his free throws. Texas led by as many as 31 in the first half and by 28 at the break despite missing 10 free throws, then pushed the margin to 81-41 on two Vokietaitis free throws with 9:56 to play; it reached 44 twice in the final minutes before Grambling trimmed it at the end.
The team numbers match the eye test: Texas outshot the Tigers 50.8 percent to 35.9, won the glass 45-34, took points in the paint 46-18 and turnovers 12-7, and blanked Grambling 14-0 in fastbreak points. Freshman Joe Sterling's eight straight points in 1:08 helped build the early 22-3 lead, and the Texas bench outscored Grambling's 41-26.
Texas is 3-0, with wins by 50, 48 and now 31 to open Sean Miller's second season. The schedule stops being gentle on Sunday: the Longhorns leave the Moody Center for the first time to face Baylor at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, 2 p.m. Sunday on ESPN — the first real test of the young season.
