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Texas' comeback effort versus No. 2 Auburn falls short despite career-high 34 points from Arthur Kaluma

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•about 23 hours•

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Arthur Kaluma
Arthur Kaluma (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Texas was outclassed on its own court by an Auburn Tigers team very likely to end up as the No. 1 squad in the country in the next AP Poll during the Longhorns’ SEC home opener on Tuesday night for about 30 of the first 40 minutes. In the remaining 10, Texas made up a 13-point deficit thanks to a career night from Arthur Kaluma and a scorching streak from Jordan Pope, but the effort was not enough to defeat the Tigers and Auburn escaped Austin with an 87-82 win.

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What started as a 12-point lead at halftime for Auburn ballooned to a margin as large as 20 at the 13:54 mark. Texas made the lead as small as nine with eight minutes left but Auburn bumped it back up to 11 and then 14 on a 5-0 run. Then the Longhorns went ice cold, going more than almost five minutes without a field goal. The basket that ended the bucket-less stretch was a layup from Kaluma.

From the five minute mark on, Texas chipped away. The lead was cut to single digits with just under two minutes remaining. A Tre Johnson jumper made it a six-point game with 1:11 left. Five straight points via Kaluma and Pope made it a three-point game with 33 seconds remaining.

But failed execution by Texas on back-to-back press attempts, the first resulting in two made free throws by Chad Baker-Mazara and the second creating the opportunity for the game-sealing free throws from Tahaad Pettiford, put the game at its final margin.

Kaluma scored a career-high 34 points on 12-of-16 shooting with a 5-for-6 night from three. He also pulled down eight rebounds in 38 minutes. Pope scored 19 points on 4-for-11 shooting plus a perfect 11-for-11 night at the stripe. Johnson reached double figures for the third straight game but just like in College Station against Texas A&M on Saturday, he did not convert a single three-point attempt.

Overall, Texas was 5-for-14 from three-point land on the night and 26-for-56 from the field. The Longhorns made 26 baskets but had assists on only six of them. Texas turned the ball over 11 times to Auburn’s 10. The Tigers won the rebounding battle 37-30, and the second-chance points battle 20-12.

The Longhorns only had nine points off the bench via Julian Larry (six points), Ze’Rik Onyema, (two points), and Jayson Kent (one point).

Chendall Weaver left the game after playing five minutes in the first half due to a hip injury.

Auburn saw five players reach double figures. Baker-Mazara posted 16 points and Pettiford had 10 points. Potential All-American Johni Broome posted 20 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.

Kelly Miles scored 18 points. Denver Jones rounded out the Tigers in double figures with 10 points.

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After their loss to No. 2 Auburn, the Longhorns will host top-ranked Tennessee on Saturday at the Moody Center, welcoming Rick Barnes to the new home of Texas basketball for the first time. It will mark the first time in program history that the Longhorns face the top two teams in the nation in back-to-back games.

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