Durant leads Texas past NMSU

There’s a reason Kevin Durant is listed as both a guard and forward. He can handle the ball like a smaller perimeter player, but in a big man’s body.

Showing his versatility with ball in hand or maneuvering in the paint, Durant was part of a three-guard package that helped the Longhorns (25-9) to a 79-67 victory over New Mexico State in the first round of the NCAA tournament subregionals in Spokane.

But it took brilliant free-throw shooting in the second half to dispatch the pesky Aggies (25-9), who were making their first tournament appearance since 1999.

The Longhorns were 21 for 22 at the line in the game’s final 20 minutes and 25 for 26 overall. Most of that was by Durant, who finished with a game-high 27 points and was 15 of 16 from the line.

He made 10 of those free throws in the game’s final 5 minutes, 55 seconds as Texas came back from a 60-57 deficit.

“That free throw disparity was a huge part of what was going on,” said NMSU coach Reggie Theus. “They were phenomenal from the line and there’s not much you can do, especially when they are making them all.”

Durant made 81 percent of 232 attempts during the year. A.J. Abrams and D.J. Augustin were good 92 and 83 percent of the time, respectively. They had all but two of Texas’ free throw points in the game.

“They did a great job of denying me the ball, but when I got to the free-throw line, I made them,” said Durant.

The Aggies rallied from a 47-33 deficit 5 minutes into the second half on the shooting of Elijah Ingram, outscoring the Longhorns 17-4 for the three-point lead.

Texas, however, scored 16 of its final 22 points from the line without a miss during an 18-5 finish to advance to Sunday’s 2:20 p.m. game in the the Arena.

“I think the team showed a lot when they got the lead and came back,” said Texas coach Rick Barnes. “Overall, I knew it would be a hard-fought and physical game. It was and we responded well.”

Both teams were on the run early, but with turnovers and missed shots, neither had much to show for it.

“We came out a little jittery,” said Abrams. “But I think that was to be expected.”

Then they traded points during a 9-minute span, with the Aggies building as much as a six-point lead.

Much of their success came inside on the efforts of posts 6-foot-9 Hatila Passos and 7-footer Martin Iti who each scored six points, punctuated by a pair of thunderous Iti dunks.

Relentless play by Durant and guards Abrams and Augustin, however, rallied Texas from a 27-21 deficit with 3:55 remaining in the half to a 33-30 lead at intermission.

Combined, they totaled 31 of those 33 points, Durant with 14 while Augustin and Abrams each hit 3-pointers, the latter for the lead with 27 seconds remaining. They finished with a combined 62 points.

In the second-half, however, seven different Longhorns shared the load from the field, including Connor Atchley who came off the bench and scored five points during a 12-point run that put the team ahead 47-33 with 14:43 remaining.

“We rebounded well at the end,” said Durant, “got some stops and hit our free throws.”