In a game that both programs desparately needed to win, the Longhorns blew an 8 point lead with three minutes left to lose to UCLA 65-63 at Reliant Stadium in Houston on Saturday. The rally by the Bruins started at 2:02 in the second half with Texas point guard Javan Felix turning the ball over on a steal by UCLA’s Kyle Anderson. One minute later Felix committed another crucial turnover to Anderson and the comeback was in motion for Ben Howland’s squad. After being fouled by Sheldon McClellan, Shabazz Muhammad made a free throw with 0:47  left to put UCLA up 62-61, a lead they would not relinquish. The Longhorns would cut the lead to 62-61 with 6 seconds left on a jumper by Jonathan Holmes and after a missed free throw by Jordan Adams, Texas had the final possession with :05 remaining. Jonathan Holmes drove down court and missed a long 3 pointer with one second left on the game clock, a shot which head coach Rick Barnes clearly was not happy with. When it came down to it, Texas simply did not make the shots in the final minutes to maintain a lead or spark a comeback against UCLA.
UCLA’s Jordan Adams led all scorers with 18 points while freshman Shabazz Muhammad contributed 16 points in the win. Center Cameron Ridley led the Longhorns in scoring and turned in a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Both Javan Felix and Sheldon McClellan reached double digits in scoring for Texas as well. Texas shot 37% from the field and committed 11 turnovers.
The Longhorns host Texas State at the Erwin Center on December 15th before playing consecutive games against top 25 ranked teams North Carolina and Michigan State.
