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Tyrese Hunter says Texas' blowout of Gonzaga was 'a hell of a game'

Screenshot 2023-07-18 at 4.54.37 PMby:Riley Gates•11/16/22•

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AUSTIN, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 10: Tyrese Hunter #4 of the Texas Longhorns drives around Sam Hofman #33 of the Houston Christian Huskies in the firs half of the game between the Houston Christian Huskies and the Texas Longhorns at Moody Center on November 10, 2022 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)

For anyone questioning if the Texas Longhorns were legitimately one of the top teams in the country in college basketball, Wednesday night definitively answered that question. After blasting UTEP and Houston Christian to open the season, Texas welcomed in No. 2 Gonzaga to the Moody Center and raced them out of the building with a 93-74 win, led by Iowa State transfer Tyrese Hunter. After the win, Hunter spoke to the ESPN commentators about what his team just accomplished.

“It was a hell of a game,” Hunter said. “For myself, I just want to shout out my teammates. They put me in a position for this and just shoutout myself, just putting in the work. Coach (Chris) Beard, my teammates, we prepared for this. We’re not surprised we won. The preparation we put in, day-in and day-out, we’re not surprised.”

The game was a rather close one for the majority of the first half, until a late run allowed the Longhorns to pull ahead and build a 10-point lead going into the halftime break. Leading 47-37 at the break, the door was still open for a Gonzaga comeback. But the Longhorns quickly slammed that door shut, building the lead to 18 in just the first five minutes of the second half. There was no turning back from there.

While there were plenty of stars on the floor, Hunter was the one that shined brightest. Hunter went 9-of-14 from the floor and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc to score a game-high 26 points. Hunter also grabbed three rebounds and had two assists. He was one of four Longhorns in double figures.

“For myself, I’d say it’s confidence,” Hunter said. “Just going out there, if I miss one — I missed my first one. I’m like, ‘I’m not going to let that distract me from shooting the next one. My teammates are willing to give it to me while I’m open so I’ve got to shoot it, knowing I put in the work. You caught a little piece of me putting in the work. They trust me and I trust myself.”

Texas is currently 3-0 on the season and sits at No. 11 in the country, but is sure to go up in the polls when they come out next week. Texas will not take the floor again until this Monday, when it faces Northern Arizona in at the Bert Ogden Arena as part of the Leon Black Classic.