AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Longhorns lost their second straight home game and third straight overall 54-53 to Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia native Matt Coleman missed a straight away three pointer at the buzzer. It also marks the second straight game Texas missed two three pointers in the final seconds that could have tied the game or given the Longhorns the lead.
VCU won despite shooting just 28% from the field. A big part of that was Texas turnovers late in the second half. For the game the Longhorns turned it over 18 times but had seven turnovers in an eight minute stretch. Texas shot just 41% from the field and went 4-17 from 3 including 0-7 in the second half.
Sophomore Jericho Sims led the Longhorns (5-3) with 14 points on 7-9 from the field. Leading scorer Kerwin Roach struggled from the field for a third straight game since his 32 point performance against North Carolina. Roach scored four points on 1-11 from the field.
“When it comes to game time, things don’t go in,” Roach said. “It’s hard to swallow that pill.”
Marcus Evans led VCU (7-2) with 14 points before leaving the game late in the 2nd half with an injury.
This marks the second straight game Shaka Smart has lost to a former assistant coach. VCU head coach MIke Rhoades was on Smart’s staff at VCU.
Next up for the Longhorns is a Sunday home game against Purdue at 5:00. It’s part of a day/evening doubleheader. At noon the 12th ranked UT women take on 9th ranked Tennessee.
