Texas 56, Sam Houston State 40

At the Erwin Center, the Texas Longhorns outlasted the Sam Houston Bearkats 56-40 in a defensive struggle of a game that saw neither team shoot above 32% from the field. Longhorns forward Alexis Wangmene scored 13 points, collected 8 rebounds, and proved himself as capably nimble with a series of strong plays down the stretch that sealed the win for Texas. With guard J'Covan Brown having an off night, held to 11 points on 4-15 shooting, freshmen Jonathan Holmes and Sheldon McClellan stepped in to carry the weight with 26 points and 15 rebounds between them. Meanwhile, Longhorn freshmen Myck Kabongo and Julien Lewis couldn't buy a basket, shooting a dismal 2-13 between them. After the game, Texas coach Rick Barnes expressed his concern over the lack of discipline exhibited by his team, primarily rearing its ugly head by way of ill-advised shots and lazy rebounding. Had this been the Longhorns playing a team any better than the Bearkats, now 1-5 on the season, the outcome would not have been so favorable.