March 9 (UPI) -- KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Texas overcame a double-digit second-half deficit and a cold night from the field to defeat Texas Tech 61-52 and advance to the second round of the Big 12 Basketball Championship at Sprint Center. The Longhorns, who shot just 40 percent from the field, will face second-seeded West Virginia in the second round on Thursday.
Texas came out hotter in the second half than it did in the first. It scored eight points before the first media timeout and cut the lead to 30-28. They got their ninth point in the first half with 10:17 left in the half.
But Texas Tech responded with a 12-3 run to assume another double-digit lead. Anthony Livingston, who was scoreless in the first half, had 10 of the 12 points for the Red Raiders in the run. But the Longhorns again responded, this time with an 18-2 run to take their first lead of the game.
Tech got back to within a point, but Texas scored the next nine points to ice the victory.
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Texas (11-21) was led by Andrew Jones with 15 points. Kerwin Roach Jr. added 13 and Jarrett Allen had 10.
Texas Tech (18-14) was led by Keenan Evans with 11 points. Matthew Temple and Livingston had 10 points each.
The first half was a hapless effort by both offenses, as the Red Raiders led 26-20 at intermission. If not for a flurry of seven points in the last 1:36 of the half, the Longhorns would have approached the record for fewest points in a half (12 by Oklahoma in 2003).
The Horns shot just 28 percent (7 of 25) from the field in the first half, including 2 of their last 3 shots. They were just 1 of 13 from three-point range. Allen led the Longhorns with six points.
Texas Tech didn't take full advantage of the Longhorns' futility in the first half. The Red Raiders shot just 32.1 percent (9 of 28). Temple led the Red Raiders with eight points. He hit both of his three-point shots.
