Jason Klotz sparked a key Texas run early in the second half of Saturday’s run.
AUSTIN, Texas — With Texas’ leading rebounder, Brad Buckman, in foul trouble most of the game, Jason Klotz needed to pick up a little slack for the Longhorns.
Klotz picked up the slack and a whole lot more.
The 6-foot-9 center earned his third career double-double as he helped lead Texas to a 63-51 victory against Missouri. In 37 minutes, Klotz had 15 points and 10 of Texas’ 38 rebounds. He did most of his damage on the defensive glass, snatching eight Missouri misfires.
“He was unbelievable,” Daniel Gibson, a Texas freshman guard, said. “In the second half, I just told the guys, ‘Let’s just get the ball to Jason, and let’s feed off of him and play off of him.’
“So, like a lot of the plays we were running, basically, they broke down, and we were looking for Jason the entire time.”
Klotz wasn’t the leading scorer on his team, but he played a crucial part in a huge run by the Longhorns early in the second half. Texas trailed 25-24 at halftime but quickly took the lead with a bucket at 19:35 and then went on a 13-0 run that ended with 14:40 left. In the middle of the run, Klotz scored six consecutive points. The Longhorns went up 37-25, and the lead proved insurmountable for the Tigers.
“I think that really gave us the jumpstart there,” Klotz said. “Daniel (Gibson) got the steal and then Dion (Dowell) got the dunk, got the crowd into it. Then I got some open looks and knocked it down and we just really got going.”
Klotz said Texas needed to get its energy up after a tough first half where the Longhorns shot 18.8 percent, a single-half season low. He said everyone on the team realized how flat they were but “words of encouragement” from coach Rick Barnes got the team going.
After the game, Barnes said he was pleased with the effort Klotz produced, especially early in the second half when working with Buckman.
“I thought Jason Klotz was terrific,” Barnes said. “I thought the first four or five minutes of the second half, when we were able to keep Buck and Jason on the floor, was crucial.”
Barnes seemed rather pleased with Klotz’s performance even when Buckman wasn’t by his side. Klotz boosted his team as well as the score in the second period.
“Jason, he was a man,” Barnes said. “He just went to work in there, and I just thought everyone really felt what he did.”
Klotz said since Buckman was out he put more pressure on himself early to make up for his absence. However, the added pressure hurt more than it helped.
“In the first half, I was kind of like ‘Oh man, I got to take some shots and look to score,’” Klotz said. “All that mental stuff kind of made me too tired, and I was trying to do too much. I took myself out of my own game.”
He said he felt he went away from being physical. So in the second half, Klotz calmed down and started playing his game; assertive and physical low-post offense.