by AUSTIN, Texas — Senior forward Dylan Osetkowski scored a career-high 26 points to lead The University of Texas Men’s Basketball team (17-16) to a 79-73 win over South Dakota State (24-9) in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) on Tuesday night at the Frank Erwin Center. This marked UT’s first appearance in the NIT since the 1985-86 season, a span of 33 seasons.
Osetkowski converted 9-of-13 from the field, including a season-high 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range, while adding 2 crucial late-game steals in 24 minutes. Freshman guard Courtney Ramey tallied 13 points, hitting 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, and 4 assists in 36 minutes, while senior guard Kerwin Roach II added 12 points. Freshman Kamaka Hepa (Inupiat) scored three for the Longhorns and added a career-high 3 assists.
The Longhorns connected on their first five three-pointers to jump out to a 19-0 lead at the 15:49 mark. The Jackrabbits responded with a 13-0 spurt to cut UT’s lead to three (31-28) with 5:09 left. Texas converted 11-of-23 (.478) from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes and took a 43-35 lead into the break.
An 8-0 run by SDSU gave the Jackrabbits their first lead of the night and a three-point advantage (67-64) with 8:12 remaining. Texas countered with six straight points to grab a three-point lead (70-67) at the 6:28 mark.
South Dakota State’s Mike Daum, who posted 25 points and 11 rebounds, connected on a jumper to close the gap to one (74-73) with 1:24 left, but the Longhorns held the Jackrabbbits scoreless while knocking down five free throws to seal the win.T
