AUSTIN, Texas – Shaka Smart’s Longhorns continued their hot-streak, improving to 9-1 overall with an 87-76 victory over the Central Michigan Chippewas (7-4) on Saturday at the Frank Erwin Center. The win was the Longhorns’ 5th in a row after losing last to Georgetown on November 21st.
Central Michigan took a 42-36 lead into the locker room at the half, and it wasn’t until the 14:02 mark in the second half of the game that the Longhorns held their first lead. It was another game that started slow for Texas, but they finished strong en route to the win.
Junior guard Jase Febres hit 7/10 from 3-point range and led all scorers with a season-high 23 points. Sophmore guard Courtney Ramey added 20 points and six assists. Matt Coleman III and Jericho Sims also put up double-digits in scoring, with 12 and 10 points respectively.
Senior guard Kevin McKay led the Chippewas in scoring with 21 points and six rebounds. David DiLeo, Rob Montgomery and Romelo Burrell each had 15, 14 and 12 points respectively in the loss.
Texas shot 50.9% from the floor compared to 45.8% by Central Michigan. The Longhorns out-rebounded the Chippewas 42-26, but committed 22 turnovers compared to Central Michigan’s 19.
After 10 games, Shaka Smart’s 9-1 record is his best as head coach at Texas.
The Longhorns will face Providence on the road next Saturday at 1:00 PM at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
