Abrams leads Longhorns into Round of 16

With a 17-point lead unbelievably cut to three, Texas needed somebody — anybody — to make a couple free throws. A.J. Abrams was ready — as he had been all day.

Abrams calmly sank two with 9.5 seconds remaining, giving the second-seeded Longhorns just enough margin to hold off seventh-seeded Miami 75-72 in the second round of the South Regional on Sunday.

Abrams gave Texas a 74-69 lead, but the Longhorns weren't quite safe yet. Miami's Raymond Hicks made a 3-pointer, and D.J. Augustin then shot an air ball on his first of two free throws with 1.8 seconds to play. Augustin made the second, however, and Texas was able to break up a long pass to preserve the win.

Abrams scored 26 points on six 3-pointers for the second consecutive game. Texas advances to the regional semifinals to play third-seeded Stanford on Friday.

The Longhorns went 13-of-26 from 3-point range, including 9-for-16 in the first half. They nearly made up for that by going 12-of-21 on free throws. Damion James added 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Longhorns, and Augustin contributed 12 points and eight assists.

Jack McClinton scored 18 points for Miami after a 38-point effort in the first round against Saint Mary's. McClinton made a 3-pointer late in the second half to cut the lead to 10, then dove to knock a pass off a Texas player out of bounds with 2:22 to play.

McClinton sank a couple free throws to make it 68-60, the first time all half Miami was within single digits. He then made two more from the line after drawing a foul driving to the basket. Miami had the ball down six, but Lance Hurdle tossed up a wild shot, and Texas' Connor Atchley ended up with the ball.

Still, the Longhorns couldn't put the game away from the free throw line. A 3-pointer by Hicks with 11.9 seconds to play made it 72-69.