By Jim O'Connell (AP)
Published: November 17, 2006
NEW YORK
Kevin Durant has had a pretty impressive start to his college
career. Texas coach Rick Barnes has a different view.
"Kevin hasn't played well yet," Barnes said after the 6-foot-9
swingman scored 29 points to lead the 19th-ranked Longhorns to a
77-76 victory over St. John's on Friday night in the third-place
game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. "He is progressing well. In
practice he's our best inside scorer and he has a terrific midcourt
game. He is 200 miles from where he was two weeks ago. He's
special."
Durant, who had 10 rebounds, has scored at least 20 points in
every game for Texas.
"I'm surprised I'm getting so much play," he said. "This is a
close-knit group and they get the ball to me and have a lot of
confidence in me."
The Longhorns (3-1) were able to win a close one after losing
63-61 to Michigan State in the semifinals on a driving basket by
Drew Neitzel with 2.4 seconds to play. This time, they weren't
assured of the win until Anthony Mason Jr.'s long 3-point attempt
with 1 second left bounced off the rim.
Point guard D.J. Augustin gave Texas the lead for good at 75-73
with two free throws with 1:55 to play. His driving scoop shot
after he stole the ball from Lamont Hamilton made it 77-73, but he
missed the free throw to complete the three-point play.
Eugene Lawrence's three-point play with 31 seconds left brought
St. John's (2-2) within one point. Justin Mason, another of the
freshmen who see extensive time for Texas, missed the front end of
a 1-and-1 with 16 seconds left, but all St. John's could manage on
its final possession was the long 3 by Mason.
"We got a good test," Augustin said. "We tried to make
plays."
Avery Patterson had 22 points for St. John's and was 6-for-11
from 3-point range.
The Red Storm led 45-44 at halftime, a far cry from the 58-21
deficit they faced after 20 minutes in their 92-60 semifinal loss
to Maryland.
"It was a lot better than last night. We didn't respond to the
level of play against Maryland," Red Storm coach Norm Roberts said.
"I can sleep a lot better tonight than I did last night."
The second half was one of swings for both teams, and Texas had
the first one, opening with a 12-0 run as St. John's came up empty
on its first eight possessions. Augustin started the run with a
driving basket and capped it with a 3.
St. John's used a 10-0 run to tie the game at 60 with 10:36 to
go, then went on a 7-0 spurt capped by Patterson's last 3 of the
game to go up 69-64 with 7:13 left.
Durant finished 5-for-6 from 3-point range and his last one
capped a 7-2 run that tied the game at 71 with 4:28 to go.
A.J. Abrams added 12 points for Texas, which was 10-for-18 on 3s
at Madison Square Garden, one night after going 7-for-26.
The first half couldn't have been any different for St. John's
than it was Thursday night.
The Red Storm shot 59.4 percent (19-for-32) in the opening 20
minutes against Texas after going 7-for-33 (21 percent) against
Maryland. On Friday, they were 7-for-11 on 3s, considerably better
than the 2-for-11 against the Terrapins.
Patterson hit his first three 3s as the Red Storm jumped to a
13-2 lead.
"I was nervous last night. It was my first time in Madison
Square Garden," the junior college transfer said. "Tonight, I was
ready from the start. I just took what was given me."
The tournament is sponsored by 2K Sports.