James leads No. 7 Texas over Tulane

AUSTIN - Damion James scored 16 points and No. 7 Texas cruised to a 76-51 victory over Tulane on Tuesday night.

Dexter Pittman, a 6-foot-10, 300-pound junior forward, muscled over the Green Wave for 10 points and six rebounds in his second career start for the Longhorns (2-0), who had five players score in double figures. A.J. Abrams, who had 21 points in the season-opener, had 15 against Tulane, hitting three 3-pointers.

Texas used a stellar defensive effort to turn the game into a rout by halftime. The Longhorns had 16 steals and forced 25 turnovers, while holding Tulane to 31 percent shooting.

Kevin Sims scored 11 points to lead Tulane (1-1).

Texas coach Rick Barnes promised he would use a big lineup this season and Pittman had promised he could be a much more effective player than his first two years with the Longhorns when he struggled with his weight and conditioning.

Pittman had started to come on strong for Texas in the NCAA tournament last season and attended the late Hall of Fame coach Pete Newell's camp for big men in Las Vegas last summer. He clearly picked up better footwork and passing techniques, showing off quicker and stronger moves to the basket.

The Longhorns also saw the debut of sophomore guard Dogus Balbay, who will be counted on this season to fill the void at the point left by D.J. Augustin, who is in the NBA.

Balbay sat out last season after a knee injury and while serving an NCAA suspension for playing for a professional club as a youth in his native Turkey. The suspension forced him to miss Texas' season-opening win over Stetson.

Balbay entered the game against Tulane with about 13 minutes left in the first half and quickly contributed a layup and had one of Texas' eight steals in the first half.

Abrams had 10 points with two 3-pointers as Texas built a 42-25 halftime lead. Texas led 15-10 before Balbay's layup started a 16-4 run that opened up a double-digit lead.

Texas opened the second half with two dunks. The first came when Abrams pulled up for a 3-pointer, then rifled a pass to Pittman under the basket. James followed it with a steal and fastbreak slam that put Texas up by 21 before three more steals ended in more Texas baskets. The Longhorns led by as many as 37 points.

Texas A&M 55, Stephen F. Austin 48: At College Station, Texas A&M's Bryan Davis scored 16 points and had a key block as Texas A&M avoided an upset with a victory over Stephen F. Austin.

The Aggies led 44-42 with 4:41 remaining when Stephen F. Austin's Matt Kingsley appeared to have an easy basket inside, but Davis blocked the shot.

Nathan Walkup helped seal the victory with a 17-foot jump shot from the left corner as the shot clock expired with 1:09 remaining, lifting the Aggies (2-0) to a 48-42 lead.

Stephen F. Austin (1-1) and the Aggies were tied 29-29 at the half.

Davis and Donald Sloan each scored 16 to lead Texas A&M. Josh Alexander scored 21 for the Lumberjacks.

A&M overcame a poor shooting night from Josh Carter, who finished 1 of 6 from the field after scoring 23 points in the Aggies' season-opening victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.