St. Joseph's 50 - 68 Texas
Final
  for this game

Abrams helps Texas to rout in Maui Invitational

Nov 25, 2008 - 6:21 AM LAHAINA, Hawaii (Ticker) -- A.J. Abrams scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half as seventh-ranked Texas rolled to a 68-50 rout of St. Joseph's in the first round of the Maui Invitational on Monday.

Behind the hot shooting of Abrams, who made all four of his 3-pointers in the opening half, the Longhorns (3-0) never trailed in cruising into a second-round meeting against No. 9 Notre Dame on Tuesday.

Damione James added 16 points and Gary Johnson 12 for the Longhorns, who overwhelmed the Hawks with their quickness and overall athleticism.

Abrams, a 5-11 speedster, displayed a smooth touch from the outside. His 3-pointer from the right corner just over four minutes into the contest provided an early 13-2 advantage.

After the Hawks closed to 23-18, Clint Chapman threw down a dunk and Abrams drilled a jumper to trigger a 9-2 surge to rebuild the advantage to double digits. The Longhorns settled for a 37-28 lead at the break.

The Longhorns removed any suspense of the outcome with an 11-3 surge to open the second half. Connor Atchley capped the burst with a jumper at the 16:29 mark.

Texas shot 43 percent (24-of-56) and held a 36-27 rebounding advantage.

Ahmad Nivins collected 14 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Hawks (1-2), who shot just 30 percent (17-of-56).

On Tuesday, St. Joe's faces Notre Dame, which dispatched Indiana with an 88-50 rout.






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