Myck Kabongo steals the deal

Myck Kabongo

Texas won the last scheduled game against rival Texas A&M, 70-68, at one of the Big 12’s loudest venues, Reed Arena, on Monday night. The Longhorns hadn’t won a game away from Austin since beating UCLA, 69-59, in California on Dec. 3. It was the Longhorns’ best conference win and their second victory in a row.

The Longhorns were in a similar situation in the final minutes against Mizzou last Monday. UT failed to get a stop against the Tigers and lost. But this time, freshman point guard Myck Kabongo stole an errant pass with 25 seconds left and found Brown down the court. Longhorns win it 70-68. Myck finished with 6 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in 38 minutes.

“It was a big play for everybody,” Brown said. “We knew they were going to run an isolation play. We did a great job with help from defense. Myck came up with a big steal. That’s what you have to do to close out big games.”

“I thought Myck was terrific tonight,” Barnes said. “In some ways, he maybe played as well as he’s played all year.”

The Longhorns will need to win another close game like this — and maybe one on the road — at some point this season if they want to earn an invitation to the NCAA Tournament for the 14th straight year. But they finally showed it can be done.