Horns hit 100 for the 1st time this season in win over Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The No. 7 Texas Longhorns men’s basketball team scored a 100-72 win over Louisiana on Wednesday at the Moody Center, and acting head coach Rodney Terry thinks “the sky is the limit” for his team.

It’s Terry’s third game as the acting head coach following Chris Beard’s arrest and suspension Dec. 12, and the Longhorns are 3-0 in those games. Terry said after the game he didn’t know anything about his position as acting head coach moving forward or if he’d be named the interim head coach in the wake of Beard’s suspension.

“We’re just trying to do everything we can to put these guys in the best position to be successful,” Terry said. “We love working with this group.”

Freshman Arterio Morris scored a career-high 25 points on a near-perfect 9-of-11 from the field. He was perfect on two-point shots at 4-for-4 and was 5-of-7 from 3-point range. He also hit both his free throw attempts. He scored half of the Longhorns’ bench points, and it was the first time all season that the Longhorns scored 100 points.

Marcus Carr and Timmy Allen both poured in 17 points each while Tyrese Hunter and Christian Bishop had 10 each. It’s the type of balanced offense the team has been looking for the entire year, no matter who the coach is.

“This is a very unselfish team, and on any given night, anybody can be our leading scorer,” Terry said. “We shared the ball, moved the ball … our entire staff does a great job with it.”

The Longhorns racked up 23 assists against the Ragin’ Cajuns and are No. 12 in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.56. What the Longhorns have proved to be good at this season is complimentary basketball, and not only do they have one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the country, but they’re also one of the best at causing turnovers. The Longhorns force 18.18 turnovers per game this season, which is No. 16 in the country. Against Louisiana, Texas forced 15 turnovers. Terry said the coaches came into the matchup treating it like an NCAA Tournament game because, at the end of the year, they expect the Ragin’ Cajuns to be one of the last 68 teams standing.

“I thought our guys for the last two days have been spot-on with their preparation. This time of year, every game matters,” Terry said. “Our guys were ready to play from the start, and in our shootaround, our guys were focused the entire time.”

Forward Dylan Disu suffered a leg injury during the game and Terry didn’t have any other information about it after the game.

Terry said the team will have a couple of days off for Christmas before getting back in the gym to prepare for Texas A&M-Commerce. The Longhorns (10-1) take on the Lions at 7 p.m., Dec. 27 at the Moody Center. The Ragin’ Cajuns (10-2) travel to Conway, South Carolina, to take on Coastal Carolina on Dec. 29.