The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN Shaquille ‘Shaq’ Cleare had his best game so far for the University of Texas Longhorns, scoring a career-high 23 points in their close 84-83 triumph over the Oklahoma Sooners at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, on Monday.

In the game that was carried live on ESPN, the 6-foot, 8-inch forward made the best of his appearance, reaching double figures in scoring for the fourth straight game, the eighth time this season in 20 games and 10th time in his UT career, spanning 53 games.

“We needed this game in the worst way possible. These guys, they work so hard in practice every day and it was just time to reward ourselves,” Cleare was quoted as saying on the Longhorns’ website.

“I thought going into the ending part, we really need a miracle right now. I said “something amazing is about to happen” and Andrew came out and put up a big shot and we needed it.”

The 275-pound senior, who turns 24 on February 19, also topped the 20-point mark for the first time in his career as he surpassed his previous career-high of 14 that he did twice and he established a career high in field goals made, shooting 10-of-14 improving on his previous mark of six that he did six four times.

Additionally, the Andros-native tied his career high in rebounds with eight, the same amount he tallied in his previous two games and he also finished with two blocked shots, his best for the season.

With the win, the Longhorns pushed their win-loss record to 8-12 and 2-6 in the Big 12.

“I think we wanted it. We wanted it bad. Once we start to close out games the way we start games, I think we put ourselves in a better position,” Cleare said. “We’ve got to enjoy the win, but moving forward we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Cleare, who previously played his first two collegiate seasons for the Maryland Terrapins, had a significant role early in the game when he scored on a layup to complete a 7-0 run. However, Oklahoma (8-11, 2-6) answered with a 9-0 run of its own, tying the score at 15-15 with 11:08 remaining in the half.That was the tone of the game as neither team was able to hold onto any wide margins as Texas blew a 51-40 advantage in the second half, but Oklahoma battled back to go up 83-78 lead with 19 seconds remaining.

Texas then got a three-pointer from Eric Davis Jr and after Oklahoma missed a pair of free throws, Andrew Jones canned another with 1.8 seconds left to seal the win for Cleare and Texas.

The Longhorns return to action on Saturday (January 28) when they travel to face Georgia in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge presented by SONIC. Tip-off is set for 3pm central time (4pm eastern), and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.