NIT 2019: Box Score, Stats, Highlights from Lipscomb vs. Texas Championship

Kerwin Roach II provided 16 points and nine assists off the bench to propel the Texas Longhorns past the Lipscomb Bisons in the 2019 NIT championship.

The senior ended his college career in style, sparking the offense during a pivotal stretch. Texas closed the first half on a 22-5 run and flipped the score from a three-point deficit to a 14-point halftime lead. Roach accounted for 12 of those 22 points.

Roach earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player honor, but it was a terrific all-around effort that fueled the 81-66 win.

The victory capped an impressive run through the NIT for Texas, which survived a pair of tight finishes in the early rounds before recording three straight wins of 13-plus points.

Box Score

Lipscomb

Rob Marberry: 17 points
Garrison Mathews: 15 points, 8 rebounds
Ahsan Asadullah: 11 points
Michael Buckland: 5 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists

Texas

Dylan Osetkowski: 19 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals
Jase Febres: 17 points, 5 rebounds
Kerwin Roach II: 16 points, 9 assists, 2 steals
Matt Coleman III: 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals

Game Recap and Highlights

Though the teams exchanged the lead a few times, Lipscomb only trailed for about three of the first 14 minutes. Marberry scored 10 of his team-high 17 points to help build a 22-19 edge.

Once the Longhorns pulled ahead, though, they never fell behind.

Roach and Dylan Osetkowski carried Texas to a 41-27 advantage at the break, punctuated by a last-second triple from Jase Febres. He knocked down four long-range shots Thursday.

Out of the locker room, Lipscomb quickly cut the deficit to seven. However, that was the closest the Bisons would get because Texas kept hitting from the perimeter. The Longhorns made eight of their 13 triples in the second half.

To Lipscomb's credit, the Atlantic Sun regular-season champions hung around for much of the latter period. It wasn't until seven minutes remaining in regulation that Texas took full control.

With the Longhorns up 64-54, Osetkowski scored or assisted on nine straight points to trigger a game-sealing 13-1 spurt. The lead swelled to an insurmountable 22 points.

Roach punctuated the run―and Texas career―with a 360-degree dunk.

"It's something I've always wanted to do in real life," said Roach, per Brian Davis of the Austin American-Statesman. "To do it at the end of my college career to win a NIT championship is even better."

Texas wrapped up the 2019 campaign at 21-16. Lipscomb―which had already shattered the previous program record for single-season wins of 23―ended 29-8.

Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR