No. 4 Texas Vs. No. 13 Oakland: Longhorns Weather Late Rush To Advance, 85-81

Oakland made a late run at scoring a March Madness upset, but Texas had built enough of an advantage to come away with a 85-81 win. The Golden Grizzlies trailed by as many as 15 in the final five minutes before storming within five with just over a minute to go. Cory Joseph and J’Covan Brown hit some clutch free throws to maintain the distance, but the Longhorns NCAA Tournament run was looking perilous for a moment.

Brown led Texas with 21 points, with Oakland’s Reggie Hamilton leading all scorers with 25. Hamilton and Keith Benson, along with Texas’ Jordan Hamilton and Tristan Thompson, finished with double-doubles.

Texas is tipping off the second (“fourth”) day of the 2011 NCAA Tournament with a steady performance against Summit champs Oakland, taking a 46-38 lead into the break. Jordan Hamilton, Tristan Thompson, and J’Covan Brown have nine points each for the Longhorns, while Oakland’s Reggie Hamilton and Travis Bader have 10 apiece.

The Golden Grizzlies are playing well, but are having a tough time preventing the Horns from getting good looks. Texas is shooting almost 60 percent from the floor. If Oakland can get their three-pointers to fall -- they’ve taken 12 to Texas’ three -- they can start to make up ground, but this one was starting to slip away from them late in the first half.