Jones steps up, Longhorns win title

It was a dramatic finish for Kai Jones and his number 17 ranked University of Texas Longhorns in Asheville, North Carolina, as they held on to a 69-67 close win against the number 14 ranked University of North Carolina (UNC) Tar Heels to emerge as the champions of the 2020 Camping World Maui Invitational. The three-day classic was played at the Hurrah Cherokee Center in Asheville.

The Bahamian was two rebounds shy of a double-double as he posted a stat line of 12 points and eight rebounds. His perfect streak from the field is over but he finished the afternoon 4-for-5 shooting from the field. Jones was also able to dish out two assists and had one block. He was perfect from the free throw line as he finished 3-for-3, and he did all of that in a season-high 26 minutes of play.

With that win, the Longhorns stay a perfect 4-0 on the young season, and handed the Tar Heels their first loss as they slipped to 3-1.

Jones’ teammate, senior guard Matt Coleman III, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP). He finished with 22 points in the championship game and hit a James Harden-esque step-back jumper with 0.1 seconds left on the shot clock to seal the win for the Longhorns.

A couple field goals made from Jones were crucial down the stretch to help seal the victory for the Longhorns. He hit a game-tying jumper with 2:29 remaining to tie the game at 65, and his final field goal of the night was a dunk with 38 seconds remaining to put his team up 67-65. On that play, Jones’ teammate, forward Brock Cunningham, stole the ball from guard Caleb Love and after dishing to Longhorns’ guard Courtney Ramey, the ball ended up in the hands of a speedy Jones in transition for the finish.

After that play, Tar Heels guard Leaky Black hit two free throws to tie it at 67 with 26 seconds remaining. The Longhorns got the ball back as legendary Tar Heels Head Coach Roy Williams called a timeout.

Coleman, a nifty lefty, had the ball with the shot clock off. He ran the game clock down and with just under 10 seconds remaining in the game, Jones tried to set a pick before Coleman decided to go with an isolation (Iso) play against guard RJ Davis with 6.1 seconds remaining. With 4.1 seconds remaining, Coleman began to drive to the hoop with Davis tight on him. He pulled the trigger from a foot behind the right side of free throw line with 2.5 seconds left. The ball bounced off front of the rim, hit the backboard then hit the front of the rim again before dropping in with 0.1 seconds remaining.

The Tar Heels had one last chance, but it was not enough time as a full court pass for a quick shot was not released in time. The Longhorns celebrated the hard earned win.

The Bahamian’s only miss of the game was a dunk attempt with 3:42 left in the second half with the game tied at 63.

The tournament was a progressive one for Jones who has gained the trust of Longhorns Head Coach Shaka Smart who is in his sixth season in Austin, Texas. This was evident as Jones was left on the court during the crucial stretch of the championship game.

The Longhorns blew a 16-point lead in the first half, but still led by a dozen, 40-28, at the half. They finished that half making 9-for-12 from behind the three-point line. The Tar Heels had 10 turnovers in that half.

As expected under a coach like Williams, the Tar Heels rallied in the second half. They opened the second half on a 12-2 scoring run with 16:10 remaining in the game. The score was 42-40 at that point.

Garrison Brooks’ jumper gave the Tar Heels a lead at 65-63 with 2:44 remaining. That was their first lead of the game since losing it on a Coleman three-pointer with 9:40 remaining in the first half.

Coleman’s three-pointer came during a Longhorns’ 14-0 run to put their stamp on the game in the first half. Jones hit his only three-pointer of the game during that run to stay perfect from deep on the season.

Yesterday, he fouled out in 13 minutes of play against the Indiana University Hoosiers as he posted just four points and five rebounds. On Monday, Jones scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds in 18 minutes of play. In their opening game of the season against the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros, Jones finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes on the floor.

The Longhorns’ next game will be on Sunday December 6, when they head home to play a strong Villanova University Wildcats team (2-1) at the Frank C. Erwin Jr. Special Events Center in Austin, Texas at noon. It will be the second annual Big East-Big 12 Battle showdown. The Longhorns will represent the Big 12 Conference in that game while Villanova will represent the Big East Conference. Both teams play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I.

The post Jones steps up, Longhorns win title appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

source https://thenassauguardian.com/jones-steps-up-longhorns-win-title/