'Horns power past Tigers for 8th straight win

AUSTIN, Texas -- Missouri coach Quin Snyder felt like a sprinter who got a bad start. And once No. 4 Texas got rolling, there was no catching the Longhorns.

Brandon Mouton scored 20 points and T.J. Ford sparked Texas' key second-half run as the Longhorns pulled away for a 76-55 victory Saturday over No. 21 Missouri.

Texas (13-2, 4-0 Big 12) recorded its eighth straight win to remain unbeaten at home this season.

Texas outshot the Tigers 44 percent to 37 percent, forced 16 turnovers and outscored Missouri's bench 22-0. The Longhorns held the Tigers to just nine points over the final nine minutes.

The Longhorns led by 14 at halftime and found the extra gear they needed in the second to snuff a Tigers rally.

"It gets really hard when you spot someone 20 yards in the 100-yard dash," Snyder said. "After a while, you keep banging and you still find yourself down by eight or 10."

Ford took the game over just as Missouri was catching up.

He scored six straight points in a burst that broke open a tight game, and finished with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists.

"He had great vision today," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "When he gets going in transition, he's hard to stop."

Ricky Clemons scored 16 points to lead Missouri (11-4, 2-2), which has lost three of its last four.

Playing his first game away from home since being arrested Jan. 17 on charges of choking a woman, Clemons was taunted throughout the game by Texas fans who chanted "Rick-ee! Rick-ee!" and waived printed copies of his police arrest photo.

"The road is the road," Snyder said. "It's always going to be tough no matter where it is."

Missouri had rallied from a 36-22 halftime deficit to pull within 52-46 on Travon Bryant's 3-pointer with 9:44 to play. That's when Ford took over.

The 5-foot-10 point guard hit two free throws and converted a quick layup by slashing around three defenders in the lane. He then grabbed a long rebound off a Missouri miss and finished a perfect give-and-go with Mouton for another layup to push the Texas lead back up to 58-46 as the Longhorns pulled away.

"I just knew we needed a basket," Ford said. "I knew I could get open any time I wanted. I just stepped up and made shots."

Brian Boddicker added 11 points and James Thomas, the Big 12's leading rebounder, had a game-high eight rebounds for Texas.

Clemons hit 4-of-9 3-pointers for Missouri, which got 13 points from Jimmy McKinney and 10 from Arthur Johnson.

Texas's defense all but shut down Missouri in the first half, when the Tigers committed 11 turnovers and shot just 9-of-31 from the floor, including just three field goals in the final 10 minutes.

Texas closed the half with an 11-2 run keyed by Mouton's 3-pointer. Mouton shot 5-of-6 in the first half.

Missouri opened the second with an 11-3 run that got the Tigers within six and kept it close until Ford sparked the Longhorns' final run.

And as good as the Longhorns were Saturday, Barnes says they can be better.

"We still haven't put it all together when everybody is playing their best basketball," Barnes said.

The Longhorns travel Monday to play No. 6 Kansas, which gave up a big lead Saturday in losing to Arizona.

"We all know Kansas is a great team. We have to challenge ourselves to be mentally prepared," Mouton said.

"We have to play hard, play smart," Mouton said, "Just play Texas basketball."