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Jamie Squire Getty Images
Texas center Dexter Pittman had 16 points against Iowa State.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Damion James had 28 points and 16 rebounds, and Texas pulled away from plucky Iowa State on Wednesday night, beating the Cyclones 82-75 in a hard-fought Big 12 opening-round game.
James had three points, three rebounds and an assist during an 11-0 run that turned a one-point lead into a 12-point spread. The sixth-seeded Longhorns (24-8) play third-seeded and No. 21 Baylor, a team that beat them twice during the regular season, in the quarterfinals.
After Iowa State (15-17), the No. 11 seed, cut the lead to six points at 75-69, Jai Lucas hit a free throw for Texas and missed the second attempt. James grabbed the rebound, and Avery Bradley sank a pair of foul shots to put the Longhorns on top 78-69.
Gary Johnson had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Texas.
The Cyclones, seeking their first Big 12 tournament victory since 2005, got 17 points from Marquis Gilstrap. Craig Brackins had 15, Diante Garrett 14 and Scott Christopherson 10.
After Gilstrap’s 3-pointer made it 78-72, Lucas against missed a second foul shot, and James again grabbed the rebound. He then went to the foul line and sank one shot for an 80-72 lead with 50 seconds remaining.
With a little under nine minutes left, LaRon Dendy hit from inside, Chris Colvin drilled a 3-pointer and Gilstrap nailed two free throws, bringing the Cyclones to within a point at 60-59.
But James responded with a 3-pointer. Gilstrap went back to the line and could have cut the lead to two points, but he missed both foul shots, and Texas got buckets from Dexter Pittman on its next two possessions and again held an eight-point advantage.
Texas, favored by nine points over the team it beat on the road in January, nursed a small lead throughout the first half, never up by more than seven but trailing only briefly by one.
James’ 3-pointer put the Longhorns up 25-19, and Pittman later made it 31-25 with a stuff. But Gilstrap’s free throw and Brackins’ bucket cut the halftime lead to 31-28.
James, appearing in his school-record 140th straight game, had 10 points and six rebounds in the first half. Texas hit only 4 of 16 3-point attempts, and James made three of them. He also was 7 for 8 from the line.
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