AUSTIN, Texas -- Stuck with a three-game losing streak and a 12-point halftime deficit, the Texas Longhorns finally emerged from their inertia Friday night.Texas defended with more intensity, shot with increased accuracy and scored 51 points in the second half to beat Alabama 77-68.The first five minutes of the second half, they came out with a different type of energy and focus, Alabama coach Avery Johnson said. It seemed like they were a step quicker. Give them credit. This is a team that lost three games in a row. They were desperate.Kerwin Roach scored 16 points for Texas (4-3). Tevin Mack, Shaq Cleare, Jacob Young and Jarrett Allen scored 11 points each for the Longhorns.Dazon Ingram led Alabama (4-3) with 12 points and had Avery Johnson Jr. had 10.The Longhorns, bolstered by full-court pressure defense in the second half, persisted until they took their first lead of the game, on a 3-point play by Roach with 12:47 remaining.Neither team led by more than four until Roach made a free throw with 1:02 left for a 68-63 lead.Corban Collins, an Alabama graduate transfer from Morehead State, made three 3-point baskets in the first half, helping the Tide to a 38-26 lead at the break. Before Friday, Collins had seven 3-pointers in six games.Mack, making his first start of the season, scored all 11 of his points in the second half, one more than Roach.This is a little glimpse of what we can really be like if we continue to work hard, Cleare said. When we lost those games these guys were really crushed. The last two days of practice were really intense. We knew we were gonna win this game, even if we were down by 15, 16 points.BIG PICTUREAlabama: The Crimson Tide regard defense as their strength. They rank in the top 25 nationally in points allowed and turnover margin. They maintained form in the first half, limiting Texas to 26 points, but the Longhorns scored 51 in the second. Alabama shot 48 percent in the first half. Texas, meanwhile, hit 35 percent. The Longhorns outshot Alabama 57-41 percent in the second half.Our defense wasnt good enough in the second half, Johnson said. Roach broke us down. We werent moving our feet. We were out of position.Texas: Coach Shaka Smart made two starting lineup changes, replacing guards Eric Davis and Kendal Yancy with Mack and Andrew Jones. Davis is in a season-long shooting slump, while Mack is the Longhorns leading scorer and best 3-point shooter this season. Mack missed all five shots in the first half before rallying for 11 points. Davis made one basket after missing his first three shots, increasing his streak of misses to 11 in the last two games. Mack played a season-high 37 minutes.Ive never played that much or that hard, Mack said.UP NEXTAlabama is at No. 23 Oregon on Dec. 11. If Oregon remains in the top 25 next week, this will be Alabamas first game against a ranked team.Texas is at Michigan on Tuesday. Michigan beat Texas 78-72 last season at a tournament in the Bahamas. Matt Guokas Jersey Signed . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. Dan Roundfield Jersey Signed . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. https://www.cheapnbajerseysjustwholesale.com/roy-hinson-jersey-signed/ . 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Melee, each vying for his own personal chance to make history.Standing in their way is the one overseas competitor still alive on foreign ground, as defending Evolution champion Adam Armada Lindgren looks to retain his title and achieve back-to-back gold-medal finishes.One Swedish champion versus seven American contenders. Who will exit Mandalay as the worlds best Melee player?Winners Bracket SemifinalsAdam Armada Lindgren vs. Jason Mew2King ZimmermanOn Sunday, these two gods of Melee will battle it out to get a guaranteed top-three placing and a spot in the Winners Final. Alliances Armada, the undisputed Melee champion of 2015, has had a less successful year in 2016; however, he has kept the same air of consistency that has him in the history books as one of the best players in the games history. Mew2King, whose play is the opposite of consistent, can vary in form for all sorts of different reasons. Featuring two of the smartest players in the professional scene today, its a matchup between veterans, with the Swedish champion entering as the favorite.Yet, even with his mentality issues at times, Mew2King is someone you cant count out. An upset run to the finals and a championship win would be the pinnacle of a decadelong career of Echo Foxs Smash representative.Juan Hungrybox Debiedma vs. Justin Plup McGrathIts now or never for Team Liquids ace Hungrybox. A perennial finalist, he has earned the title as the Silver King of Melee at Evo, finishing as runner-up in both the 2015 and 2014 tournaments to Armada and eternal rival Cloud9s Joseph Mango Marquez, respectively. This year, however, has been the Year of Hungrybox, as the Jigglypuff master has won eight tournaments and only grabbed a silver medal twice.For Hungrybox, this tournament will shape how people view his legacy. Given his third-place finish in 2013 and his two silver finishes the past two years, another failure to grab gold in a year where he has routinely won championships will be looked upon as a missed opportunity. A title, however, would elevate him to the same status as Mango and Armada: an Evolution champion.His opponent, Plup, is no stranger to playing with and against Hungrybox, as the two both come out of the Florida region and have been a prolific tag team before in Melee doubles. Plups winners semifinals placement is his own statement that hes ready to take the next step in his career. A consistent top eight finisher, he had his first huge breakthrough during the last Evo, where he upset both Mango and Team SoloMids William Leffen Hjelte to finish in fourth place (see Road to Evo: Plup).dddddddddddd His road ended in the losers semifinals of that tournament when he fell to Hungryboxs Jigglypuff in a 2-0 sweep over his Sheik.Losers Bracket Round 5Weston Westballz Dennis vs. Johnny S2J KimThis match could make the career of either competitor. In the only matchup in the top eight without one of the tournament favorites, G2 Esports recently signed talent Westballz or Tempo Storms S2J could push himself to the next level with a win.Westballz, one of the better non-god or Leffen players in 2015 with top four finishes at various large events, has had more of a quiet 2016. Hes placed outside the semifinals for a majority of the tournaments that he has played in, outside of his minor tournament victory in London over Germanys Mustafa Ice Akcakaya. S2J, out of all eight finalists, is the biggest long shot, having not finished above seventh-eighth place at a premier competition this year. His Evolution history has been good but nothing remarkable, hovering around the 13th to 24th position the past three years.This years Cinderella run could come from this matchup between Westballzs Falco and S2Js Captain Falcon.Joseph Mango Marquez vs. Kevin PewPewU ToyThe final match of the top eight might also be its best. Mango, two-time Evolution champion, was thwarted from his three-peat last year and threw his participation medal into the crowd during the closing ceremony. Possibly the greatest American to ever pick up the game, Mangos desire and drive is to grab the 3vo title that he failed to pick up last year. He has changed his training regimen around (see Road to Evo: Mango), and the C9 star is hoping that his more focused attitude and approach to the game will be what he needs to take home the title he covets so much. Coming out of the losers bracket, hell need to win five straight matches on Sunday to make his dream a reality in front of a raucous crowd at the Events Center.CLGs PewPewU, often seen as a tandem alongside club and doubles teammate Zachary SFAT Cordoni, is going it alone in the final eight at Evolution. His placement already will be the best in his career -- hes placed ninth-12th the past two years -- but Counter Logics player doesnt want the run to end here. A win over Mango would boost PewPewU into the top six and give him the chance to take down multiple Melee gods en route to an unexpected title run. ' ' '
