Texas Longhorns Knock Off No. 9 LSU

HOUSTON (AP) _ Texas coach Rick Barnes knows he could have pampered his freshmen-laden team with an easy nonconference schedule. <br/><br/>He decided to test it and got a bonus Sunday night _ a win over

Monday, December 11th 2006, 6:21 am

By: News On 6

HOUSTON (AP) _ Texas coach Rick Barnes knows he could have pampered his freshmen-laden team with an easy nonconference schedule.

He decided to test it and got a bonus Sunday night _ a win over a Top Ten opponent.

A.J. Abrams hit a 3-pointer with 1:03 left in overtime to give Texas the lead and the Longhorns went on to beat No. 9 LSU 76-75 in a thrilling rematch of last season's NCAA regional final that also went to overtime.

``If you want to run with the big dogs, you've got to get off the porch,'' Barnes said. ``We could stay at home and play a non-league schedule and get a false sense of security about ourselves. Don't think I haven't had doubts about it.

``But tonight makes it all worth it.''

It was the Longhorns' third consecutive victory over a Top Ten team, and it wasn't sealed until LSU's Garrett Temple missed a 3-point attempt from the head of the key and Texas corralled the rebound as the buzzer sounded.

In the only other game involving a ranked team on Sunday, Boston College beat No. 23 Maryland 73-62.

Damion James of Texas (6-2) missed two free throws with 17 seconds left in overtime and his team leading by one, giving the Tigers (5-2) a chance for the win.

After a timeout, LSU didn't get the ball to Glen Davis, the Tigers' leading scorer and rebounder, and Temple's shot bounced off the front of the rim.

``With every win or loss, there are always things you could do better,'' LSU coach John Brady said. ``We'll take this tape back and get better. Our team is disappointed. But with every disappointment, there comes another opportunity to have success.''

Texas starts four freshmen and a sophomore and has nine underclassmen on the roster. The Longhorns played their best game against the toughest opponent they've faced so far, with the freshmen who played scoring 65 percent of their points.

``There comes a point where you've got to do something,'' Barnes said. ``I'm happy for a lot of guys who struggled to this point. We made some good things happen tonight.''

Temple hit a 3 with 21 seconds left to make it 68-all, the final tie of regulation and the 13th of the game.

LSU went to a zone defense in the extra period and Abrams' 3 _ his second of the overtime _ made it 76-75.

``It was unexpected,'' said Abrams, the Longhorns' leading 3-point shooter who was 3-for-5 from beyond the arc and finished with 18 points. ``I didn't think they were going to go zone. Once they did it, I started calling for the ball a little bit more.''

D.J. Augustin, a freshman from New Orleans, had 25 points, setting a career high in front of about 30 family members and another 50 from his high school.

``We've been working really hard in practice and we're going to keep working hard and try to keep winning,'' he said.

Freshman Kevin Durant had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Texas, while James had 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Tasmin Mitchell had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers, while Davis finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds after a sluggish first half.

The teams went to overtime for the third time in their last four meetings. LSU beat Texas 70-60 in overtime in last year's Atlanta regional final to advance to the Final Four.

LSU struggled against Texas' 2-3 zone, shooting 35.5 percent (27-of-76) from the field, including 29.6 percent from 3-point range (8-of-27).

``We knew Texas was going to play a lot of zone and at some point, you've got to make a basket or two outside of six or eight feet,'' Brady said. ``We weren't able to score from the perimeter. But we hit enough big shots to put ourselves in position to win the game.''

Boston College 73, No. 23 Maryland 62

Jared Dudley had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Sean Williams added 10 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocked shots to the Eagles (6-2) in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.

When Maryland closed within 63-59, BC scored the next six points _ the last four a turnaround by Williams and a short jumper by Dudley _ to go up 10 with 1:22 to play.

James Gist had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Terrapins (9-2), who have lost two of three since winning their first eight games this season.