Pittman and James Lead The Way For The ‘Horns

Austin, TX (Sports Network) - Dexter Pittman and Damion James each tallied 21 points to lead No. 3 Texas to a season-opening 89-42 rout of UC Irvine.

James also pulled down 15 rebounds for the Longhorns (1-0), who went 23-12 last season and return four starters. J'Covan Brown and Jordan Hamilton chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively, in the lopsided affair.

Zack Atkinson led UC Irvine (1-1) with 10 points and five rebounds. Darren Moore and Michael Hunter each went for six points on a combined 5-for-20 shooting performance from the field.

The Anteaters, who opened their season on Friday night with a 28-point win over the University of La Verne, hit nine of their first 13 shots from the floor en route to a 19-18 lead at the midway point of the first half.

The visitors, however, missed their next 14 attempts from the floor, and the Longhorns ended the half on a 24-2 run. Brown started the rally with a three- pointer and ended the half with another trey for a 42-21 lead.

The lead increased to 55-29, and Pittman recorded back-to-back dunks to ignite a 9-0 run that ended any hope of a miracle comeback.

This bout was the first-ever meeting between UC-Irvine and Texas on the hardwood...The game was part of regional action in the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic...Avery Bradley had 10 points for Texas, which shot 56.5 percent from the field, compared to UC Irvine's 27.4 percent shooting effort.

- Via Sports Network