AUSTIN, Texas – Saint Francis hung with No. 7 Texas for 20 minutes and then some, at one point cutting the difference to eight late in the first half, but the Longhorns parlayed a strong second half into a 78-46 win at the Erwin Center Tuesday night.
 
The setback snapped a two-game Red Flash winning streak as Texas got off to its first 5-0 start since 2009 and extended its home unbeaten streak to 10 games.
 
"We knew coming in we were going to have to take care of the basketball, limit our mistakes and make some shots," said Flash coach Rob Krimmel. "In the first half I was very pleased with the shots that we got, and the right people were taking those shots. We just didn't hit some of them."
 
The Frankies played the Longhorns to a 36-23 halftime score – which could have been much tighter if not for SFU's 28.1% (9 of 32) shooting clip, including a 27.3% (3 of 11) from beyond the 3-point line.
 
Led by six points from Ronnie Drinnon (Jamestown, Ohio/Greenview), Saint Francis outscored Texas 15-13 over a 9:18 span in the first half to cut their deficit to 31-23 with 2:16 to go before the intermission.  The Longhorns scored the next five points to go into halftime up, 36-23.
 
Texas opened the second half with a 10-2 run keyed by five points from Kendal Yancy.  Although the Flash was able to pull within striking distance on several occasions early in the second half, the Longhorns were able to respond to regain control.
 
"In the second half, I thought we got some good looks and if we could've knocked a couple of those down, especially early, that would have helped," said Krimmel.  "To start the [second] half they went on a bit of a run, but our guys bounced back and had a chance to chip away at it.
 
"Again, give Texas credit, that's a very good basketball team. They willed their style, especially in the second half. I'm proud of the way our guys battled tonight."
 
Myles Turner had 25 points and 10 rebounds, to lead Texas.  Malik Harmon (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) scored 15 for Saint Francis (2-3).
 
While it made it to the free throw line just five times in the contest, SFU hit on all five of those opportunities.
 
The Frankies return to action on Saturday when they visit Navy for a 1 p.m. contest.