No. 7 Texas smashes Chicago State, 109-59, in season opener

AUSTIN — With former NBA superstar Dwayne Wade in attendance supporting his godson, sophomore guard Isaiah Johnson, the No. 7 Texas Longhorns took control early against the Chicago State Cougars and cruised to a 109-59 victory in the season opener at the Moody Center on Monday, keyed by Johnson’s 18 points, five assists, and two steals in a pace-setting effort.

Junior center Matas Vokietatis scored a game-high 22 points on 9-of-9 shooting, adding six rebounds, as Texas shot 62.5 percent from the field and 50 percent from three. Three other players reached double figures for the Horns — freshman guard Joe Sterling scored 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three, sophomore guard Amari Evans scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, and freshman forward Marcus Spears Jr. notched 11 points.

Texas led by as many as 51 points and held a 26-7 edge in fast-break points.

The Longhorns opened the game with good inside-out action on the first possession with an extra pass getting freshman guard Austin Goosby a wide-open three to start his career, junior forward David Punch followed with a physical drive and finish, but the next two entry passes resulted in a turnover and a near turnover before junior wing Elyjah Freeman drove baseline and stepped through back into the middle for a bucket in the lane.

Texas jumped out to an 11-3 lead by the first media timeout on an excellent pass from Goosby to Punch in transition for a resounding slam.

On the other end, the Longhorns forced the Cougars to settle for threes — Chicago State’s first five shot attempts came from behind the arc and two possessions ended in shot-clock violations.

Out of the timeout, Johnson scored his first basket in burnt orange nation when a steal turned into a fast-break slam.

Onto the court for the first time after the media timeout, Spears immediately flashed his ability to protect the rim by blocking a driving layup attempt, then bullied his way from the wing into the paint and finished through contact for a three-point play opportunity, making a similar drive from the top of the key and converting the and-one.

Texas led 23-8 at the under-12 timeout, forcing seven turnovers and holding Chicago State to 3-of-11 shooting.

Guard Bo Odgen made his own collegiate debut, calmly stroking a three on his first shot attempt to cap an 8-0 surge.

The Cougars didn’t take their first free-throw attempt until the 10:22 mark on a questionable call against Vokietaitis, who had positioning and blocked the shot.

When Johnson showed off his playmaking ability with a lob to Punch for a slam and then turned defense into offense with a steal and pass ahead to Vokietaitis for a contested dunk, Chicago State had to take its first timeout with the lead stretched to 30-12.

At the under-eight timeout, the Texas advantage was 16 points on 13-of-18 shooting (72.2 percent).

The margin stretched to 27 points at the final media timeout as the Longhorns used their advantages in height, length, and athleticism to draw fouls, including Spears earning a third three-point play opportunity. Then Texas got hot from deep as two threes by Sterling sandwiched a triple by Evans. The second three by Sterling came on a nice crosscourt pass by Goosby, who showcased real vision in the first half on his two assists.

Chicago State went to a zone to try to mitigate their foul trouble and it did provide immediate dividends in that regard, but only because the Cougars gave up easy-access dunks to Vokietaitis and sophomore center Lewis Obiorah simply working from the dunker’s spot.

After Johnson hit a three off an offensive rebound, the Longhorns went into halftime with a 56-30, although the finish was sloppy with a turnover and a layup allowed defensively.

Texas host 67.7 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes as Chicago State found better footing offensively as the half went on to bolster its shooting percentage to 37.9. All 10 Longhorns who saw playing time scored, led by 12 points from Johnson as Spears added nine points, three rebounds, and three blocks in 10 minutes.

Still in zone, Chicago State gave up two dunks to Vokietaitis in the first 80 seconds of the second half and then a layup, but the Cougars were able to find some rhythm on offense against the hard hedge of the Longhorns defense, starting 3-of-4 shooting. Getting stops remained a problem, however, in zone and man, as Freeman and Johnson both hit threes and Vokietaitis caught an entry pass and flipped in a close-range shot to push the score to 70-40 at the under-16 timeout.

The next stretch featured too many fouls by Texas, including two quick whistles against Spears, causing the game to lose some momentum — the Horns won the four-minute minute, but only 6-4.

A 9-0 run out of the under-12 timeout changed that dynamic because the Longhorns were able to get out in transition for six fast-break points, highlighted by Punch’s transition slam.

Sterling’s corner three extended the run to 13-2 leading into the penultimate media break before the game quality noticeably suffered from getting into garbage time. Still, the Longhorns managed to keep extending the lead, reaching the 100-point threshold at the under-four timeout thanks to Sterling’s four triple.

Texas remains at the Moody Center for a Thursday matchup against Gardner-Webb at 7 p.m. Central on SEC Network+.