With A.J. Abrams held in check for most of the night, Damion James picked up the slack.

James recorded a season-high 28 points along with six rebounds to lead No. 14 Texas (14-4, 3-1 Big 12) to a 67-58 victory over Texas A&M Saturday.

A&M (15-5, 1-4) kept the score close throughout most of the game, but an 11-3 Texas run – with James scoring all 11 Texas points – in the middle of the second half put the Longhorns out of the Aggies’ reach.

Gary Johnson played as James’ sidekick throughout the first half. The two combined to score 21 of Texas’ first half points, including the team’s first 15 points. Johnson finished with 12 points and three rebounds.

Donald Sloan and Chinemelu Elonu kept A&M in the game during the first half. Both shot five-for-seven from the field while Sloan finished with 17 points and Elonu tallied 12.

The defense of A&M’s Derrick Roland, who proved able to fight through Texas’ screens, held Abrams to only nine points on three-for-10 shooting.

A&M shot 56 percent in the first half but fell off in the second, shooting 36 percent. Elonu was only able to shoot one shot in the second half thanks to a double team from Texas.

Being down five points and amidst a 14-2 run by the opposing team would make most coaches call a timeout.

Not Rick Barnes.

“I wasn’t going to call a timeout. I told the guys sooner or later they’ve got to figure it out,” the Texas head coach said of watching his team struggle in the first half to Texas Southern. “We’ve talked enough about it. … They’ve got to do it.”

Despite Texas Southern’s first-half run putting the Tigers in position for an upset, the No. 5 Longhorns regrouped after the break to finish out a 88-72 victory thanks largely to a halftime turnaround.

After a Michael Drewy dunk gave Texas Southern a five-point lead with a little over two minutes lefts in the first half, Longhorn freshman Varez Ward scored six straight points, including a three at the buzzer, his first career three-pointer, to give Texas a 35-34 lead heading into halftime.

“Everybody was focusing on A.J.,” Ward said. “I was just ready.”

Texas rode that momentum and looked like a different team in the second half. The Longhorns scored 53 in the half, their highest scoring half of the season, topping the 43 they scored against Texas State Saturday.

The half included an empathic dunk in traffic from Dexter Pittman, a fast break dunk from Damion James, a one-handed playground layup from Justin Mason

“With about 16 minutes left in the second half our intensity really went to another level,” Barnes said.

A.J. Abrams put up 16 points in the second to finish with a game-high 27, his fourth straight game with over 25 points. Pittman finished with 19 points, 15 of which came in the second half.

“I wanted limit Dexter Pittman,” Texas Southern head coach Tony Harvey said. “I knew he was capable of having a big game because of how physical he is.”

Pittman’s 19 points and 24 minutes were both career-highs and gave him the second back-to-back double-digit scoring effort of his career after he put up 17 against Texas State.

“We’re all watching him mature right in front of us,” Barnes said. “People are going to have to deal with him.”

The second-half offensive outburst put the game in Texas’ favor, but the first half kept the Tigers close.

Texas Southern’s transition game proved a problem for Texas as the Tigers recorded six fast break points in the half. Texas Southern out rebounded the Longhorns 20-12 in the half, including 9-3 on the offensive glass that led to seven second-chance points.

“Some of the mistakes that they’re making are still being made by the same guys,” Barnes said. “I look at our team right now and I don’t even think we are anywhere near as good of a basketball team we could be. At some point and time, it’s got to come together.”

- Colby White, Daily Texan Staff

Despite falling behind early in the game, a fast-breaking Texas State squad stayed competitive against No. 6 Texas, keeping the score close until a drought in the last five minutes sealed an 81-73 victory for the Longhorns.

After the initial surge to open the game up put the Longhorns up 10-0, the Texas offense fell into a rut. As Texas State’s Brent Benson scored 10 straight points in the middle of the first half, the Longhorns struggled to respond, missing nine straight field goals including four layups.

“We knew we had to get stops,” Benson said of the run. “We knew we could run on [Texas] and get some transition baskets.”

Benson’s run gave the Bobcats their first lead and kept the game from slipping away.

“He didn’t come in here to put on a good show,” Texas State head coach Doug Davalos said of Benson. “He came here to get a win.”

The Texas offense relied on A.J. Abrams and Dexter Pittman early as they combined to score 15 of the team’s first 17 points. Abrams finished the day with 30 points while Pittman had a break-out game, recording his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, both career highs.

“I think our guys are starting to realize what we’ve been telling them,” Texas head coach Rick Barnes said. “Dexter is a force.”

The Bobcats were within four at halftime and stayed in the game throughout the second half, thanks largely to a 16-point half by forward Cameron Johnson, who finished with a team-high 26 points.

With under five minutes left to play and still down four, the Texas State offense sputtered, shooting one-for-eight during the closing moments. Texas hit 11 free throws during the stretch to ice a Texas win.

The struggles early in the game were uncharacteristic of Texas, who finished shooting 36 percent from the floor, 10 below their season average.

“I don’t think there’s any question there were some guys who weren’t ready to play,” Barnes said. “We went up 10-0 and then got stagnant.”

- Colby White, Daily Texan Staff

What is known is that former Kansas heroes Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were sent home from the NBA’s rookie transition program, a mandatory event for incoming players. The Miami Heat have confirmed it.

What is unknown is the reason behind their dismissal. According to the Associated Press, they were kicked out for “violating unspecified league rules.”

But according to unnamed sources obtained by Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, the two rookies were sent home after they were caught in their hotel room with marijuana and women by hotel security. A report from FOXSports.com also stated that marijuana was involved in the incident.

It is important to note that the NBA and the Miami Heat have not disclosed the reason behind Chalmers’ and Arthur’s early exits.

After shrinking the deficit to as small as three points in the third quarter, Dogus Balbay’s Turkey squad fell 90-69 Saturday Serbia in the U-20 European Championship semifinals in Riga, Latva.

Balbay tallied eight points, a team high three assists and two turnovers in 31 minutes of work during the loss.

Turkey faced Spain Sunday for a chance for bronze but was overwhelmed by the Spaniards, falling 91-72 to earn a fourth-place finish. Balbay, a point guard, led the team in rebounds with seven but struggled while recording three turnovers to his one assist.

Serbia, who earned gold in every youth category in last year’s Euros, went on to defeat Lithunia 96-89 Sunday in the final to win the tournament.