AUSTIN, Texas - Brandon Mouton scored 23, his fourth straight game with at least 20, and No.10 Texas got back within a half-game of the Big 12 lead with an 82-67 win over No.20 Kansas on Monday night.
P.J. Tucker added 11 points and eight rebounds for the Longhorns (20-4, 11-2), who secured their school-record fifth straight 20-win season.
"Our intensity as a team has stepped up," Mouton said. "I'm feeding off of them and they're feeding off me."
James Thomas scored eight of his nine in a key 90-second span of the second half that helped the Longhorns protect the lead.
"James put it on him for a good two minutes and they had no answer for him," guard Royal Ivey said. "After that we just rolled."
Texas kept within sight of its second Big 12 regular-season title. The Longhorns have three games left, including a matchup Monday with conference leader Oklahoma State in Stillwater.
The Cowboys beat Texas in Austin in January.
"We're here to win championships," Ivey said, "and this is one more step."
Keith Langford led Kansas (17-7, 9-4) with 17 points. The Jayhawks have lost four straight road games and five of their past 11 overall under first-year coach Bill Self.
Texas led 26-24 in the first half before a 13-2 run made it 39-26. Jason Klotz and Tucker each had a three-point play during the run.
Klotz was fouled hard on the shoulder by Jeff Graves but managed to finish the shot with a bank off the glass. Tucker's layup and free throw gave Texas its biggest lead of the half.
Kansas got the deficit to 41-32 by halftime and outrebounded the Longhorns 22-16 but gave up 10 points in the half off eight turnovers.
The Jayhawks started the second half with a 12-6 run and, after a 3-pointer by Aaron Miles, cut it to 47-43. Texas got a break when Brian Boddicker's 3-pointer bounced high off the rim before falling in. Mouton followed a miss with an easy layup to make it 52-43 with 15:33 left.
State
S. ALABAMA 62, FIU 46: Michael Phillips came off the bench to score 11 for the visiting Jaguars. Phillips shot 5-of-6 in 16 minutes, and Henry Williams added 12 points, Chris Young 11 and Richard Law 10 for South Alabama (10-15, 4-9 Sun Belt). Raphael daSilva led the Golden Panthers (5-20, 1-11) with 17 points.
DELAWARE ST. 84, B-CC 53: Terrance Hunter had 16 points and five rebounds to lead the host Hornets (10-13, 9-6 MEAC). Dajuan Clayton had 11 points for the Wildcats (6-19, 5-10).
FAMU 93, HOWARD 71: Terrance Woods scored 32 and made 7 of 9 3-pointers for the visiting Rattlers (10-14, 9-6 MEAC). Darek Mitchell had 30 points to lead the Bison (6-18, 4-11).
Nation
SYRACUSE 64, VILLANOVA 59: Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara combined for 36 points, 21 on free throws, as the host Orangemen (18-6, 8-5 Big East) won their third in four games and handed the Wildcats (14-12, 6-7) their fourth loss in five. It was a struggle all the way on both sides; there were 39 turnovers and 45 personal fouls.
Women
NO.11 UNC 58, GA. TECH 46: The visiting Tar Heels shook off a sluggish offensive performance and gave Sylvia Hatchell her 650th coaching win. Camille Little and Ivory Latta scored 13 each for North Carolina (20-5, 10-4 ACC), which reached 20 wins for the third straight season and seventh time in the past eight. Alex Stewart scored 18, matching her career high for the Yellow Jackets (13-13, 4-10).
HOWARD 84, FAMU 69: Brittany James scored 23 and Daisha Hicks 16 to lead the host Bison (10-14, 10-5 MEAC), which tied the Rattlers for fourth place. Yolanda Dixon had 22 points for Florida A&M (14-10, 10-5).
