Behind Durant, No. 15 Texas rallies to hold off Baylor

Mar 10, 2007, 5:15 GMT

Oklahoma City, OK - Kevin Durant rebounded from a slow start to finish with 29 points and 13 rebounds, as 15th-ranked Texas came from behind to edge Baylor, 74-69, in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Tournament at Ford Center.

Durant, who had just five points at halftime, emerged in the second half to help Texas overcome a 20-point deficit.

A.J. Abrams added 16 points while Damion James and Craig Winder each had eight points for the Longhorns (23-8), who earned the right to face Oklahoma State in the semifinals on Saturday.

Curtis Jerrells netted 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds for the Bears (15-16), who led by 18 points at halftime and by as many as 20 in the second half.

Baylor stormed out of the gate and opened the contest on a 10-4 surge to take control early. Jerrells and Aaron Bruce each drained three-pointers during the stretch.

The Bears continued to run in front in the first half and a shot from beyond the arc by Jerrells made it 27-14 with about 10 minutes remaining in the opening stanza.

Baylor went into the locker room with a 43-25 advantage at halftime. Jerrells led the way with 13 points at the break.

Durant struggled in the first half for Texas, netting just five points on 1- of-13 shooting from the field.

Baylor's lead reached 20 points at 48-28 just three minutes into the second half after Kevin Rogers capped off a fast break with a layup.

Five straight points by Durant, including a three-pointer, pulled the Longhorns within 11 points at 54-43 with about 12 1/2 minutes remaining.

After two free throws by Rogers, Texas ripped off a 7-0 run to pull within six points, 56-50 with 11 minutes remaining. Durant had five points during the stretch.

The Longhorns continued to chip away at Baylor's lead and made it 62-59 after Durant hit three shots from the charity stripe after being fouled on a three- point attempt with about 8 1/2 minutes remaining.

Texas made it a two-point game at 65-63 with about five minutes to go after a layup by James, then finally evened the score with just under three minutes remaining after a bucket inside by Winder.

With 2:13 to play, Mamadou Diene hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to make it 66-65 in favor of the Bears.

Texas then scored five straight points to take the lead for good at 70-66 with 50.8 seconds to go. Winder tipped in two points and Abrams followed with a jumper before James hit a free throw.

Baylor made it a one-point game after Jerrells hit three straight free throws with 45 seconds left, but the Longhorns made their shots from the charity stripe down the stretch to preserve the comeback.

Game Notes

James also had 11 rebounds for the Longhorns...Durant finished 8-of-24 shooting from the field and was 11-of-13 from the charity stripe...Diene had 14 points and 12 rebounds in the loss...Baylor has lost its last 27 games against ranked opponents and has dropped 20 straight against Texas.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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