KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — DeYona Gaston scored 12 points and 15th-ranked Texas came to life in the second half to defeat Kansas State 60-42 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament on Friday.
After a miserable first half that saw the top-seeded Longhorns shoot 17% (5 of 30) and barely eke out an 18-all tie at halftime, they outscored the ninth-seeded Wildcats 21-4 in the third quarter and coasted to a semifinal date with fourth-seeded Oklahoma State on Saturday.
Midway through the second quarter Texas (24-8) was down 16-7 but a 32-6 run made it 39-22 entering the fourth.
Kansas State scored 20 points in the fourth to avoid its worst output of the season, which was an 87-41 loss to Texas on New Year's Eve. In the last game of the regular season the Longhorns won 80-52.
Jaelyn Glenn led the Wildcats (17-16) with 15 points. Through three quarters they were shooting 25% (9 of 35) but went 7 of 14 in the fourth with three of their four 3-pointers.
Texas shot 46% in the second half and finished with a 48-35 rebounding advantage, 16-5 on the offensive end. The Longhorns also forced 22 turnovers, improving to 20-0 when holding opponents under 60 points.
The Longhorns increased their season total to 23 quarters holding an opponent to single digits and had just their second of the season.
Texas was 2-of-10 shooting in the first quarter and 2 of 20 in the second but went 7 of 11 from the foul line in the first half.
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