Andrew Jones Shocks Sooners with Epic Shot

Andrew Jones Pulls off Miracle Win to beat Sooners

Andrew Jones saved Texas Basketball on Monday night with a miraculous three-pointer to beat the Oklahoma Sooners.

In a wild affair between two of the youngest teams in college basketball, the Longhorns were one point better with an 84-83 victory. ESPN’s “Big Monday” national TV broadcast lived up to the billing and then some.

Before the heroics, it looked like Texas was going to blow a game they led for about 35 minutes. Without a true PG, the offense stalled late in the game. An 11-point lead became four points, then two points. Suddenly, Texas blew a layup on one end and Oklahoma turned it into two points the other end to tie the game.

Texas couldn’t get out of their own way as the turnovers started to pile up. Suddenly, the Sooners had a five-point lead with 17 seconds remaining. It looked like the same story for Texas Basketball.

But, then, craziness happened. Eric Davis suddenly nailed a three-pointer with 10 seconds left to make it a two-point game. Then, Sooners freshman Kameron McGusty missed two free throws.

Texas had a chance. And, it looked like a repeat of the recent TCU and West Virginia home losses where Texas was going to fumble away a game-winning opportunity. But, Andrew Jones stepped back and heaved an NBA-range three-pointer that went through the net with 1.8 seconds left.

It was a miraculous, rainbow shot that somehow went through, sending the Erwin Center into a frenzy. After a timeout, the Sooners got off a desperation shot that had no chance of making the rim, giving Texas the win and ending a five-game losing streak. Head coach Shaka Smart reacted as if the weight of the world was lifted from his shoulders.

Texas Was Doomed to Repeat Losing Formula

Before Jones’ shot, the story was going to sound very familiar. Texas was going to lose because they struggle to execute down the stretch. They were going to lose because they lack a PG to navigate choppy Big 12 conference play. The Longhorns were going to lament leading for nearly the entire game before blowing a lead in the final minutes.

But, the combination of Eric Davis and Andrew Jones saved the day with back-to-back clutch three-pointers.

How the game played out was foreshadowed by ESPN commentator Fran Fraschilla early in the first half. Fraschilla noted that when you have very young teams, they will make enough mistakes to keep both teams in the game. That was certainly the case on Monday night.

Texas controlled the game throughout, but a steady stream of turnovers and fouls in the second half allowed the Sooners to hang around. Eventually, the Sooners took the lead, but they made their share of mistakes in the end – missed free throws – to give Texas hope.

In Texas’ previous home games, the Longhorns were unable to get a clutch shot to win a close game. TCU missed free throws that gave Texas a chance, but the Horns couldn’t get off a shot. West Virginia missed free throws that gave Texas a chance, but they couldn’t get off a shot. When Oklahoma missed their free throws, Texas did get off a shot. And Andrew Jones made it count.

Texas Big Men Step Up

Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Jarrett Allen had an up-and-down game, but he posted another double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. That included five offensive rebounds as he made a concerted effort to grab loose balls on offense.

The big story was Shaq Cleare, who dominated to the tune of 23 points and 8 rebounds. Cleare stepped up on the offensive end to help Texas build and maintain a second half lead. That is, until the wheels fell off for the guards.

Credit Eric Davis, though, for finally finding his three-point shot. Davis nailed 5-10 from downtown, including the second biggest shot of the game to set up Jones’ game-winner.

Sophomore guard Kerwin Roach also had a nice statline with 11 points and 8 assists. But, turnovers in key stretches allowed Oklahoma to climb back into the game.

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For Texas, they absolutely needed this win. They were staring at last place by themselves if Oklahoma knocked off the Horns. Now, they get some extra practice time before stepping out of conference to play Georgia on Saturday.