Courtney Ramey scored 14 points and hit the winning free throws with 8 seconds to play as Texas outlasted McNeese State 73-71 on Saturday afternoon in a wild, back-and-forth game in Austin, Texas.

The game was tied at 62 with 4:11 to play after a three-point play by McNeese State's Leondre Washington. Washington's jumper about 30 seconds later gave the Cowboys a two-point lead before Texas responded with 3-pointers from Ramey and Jase Febres to sweep back in front 68-64.

McNeese State's Sha'markus Kennedy then hit a layup with 56 seconds to play to tie the game at 71, and misses by both teams led to a defensive rebound by Ramey with 8 seconds left and a foul by the Cowboys' Dru Kuxhausen.

After a timeout, Ramey converted both free throw attempts to give Texas its final lead. Washington missed a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left to end the upset bid.

Andrew Jones added 14 points for Texas (6-1) while Jericho Sims scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Matt Coleman III added nine points and 10 assists.

Kennedy paced McNeese State (2-6) with 22 points. Washington added 17 and A.J. Lawson and Kuxhausen scored 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the Cowboys.

Febres' 3 pointer at the end of the first half helped give Texas a 37-34 lead after a close and contentious 20 minutes in which neither team led by more than six points.

The Cowboys hung with Texas in the first half thanks to 50 percent shooting from the floor and 10 points each from Lawson and Kennedy. Texas was led in the half by Jones and Sims with 8 points apiece, with Sims going 4 for 4 from the floor over the first 20 minutes.

The teams traded the lead through the first 11 minutes of the second half as both squads went through extensive scoring droughts. McNeese pulled to within 58-57 at the 5:54 mark on two free throws by Lawson, prompting Coleman to answer with a layup on the other end to push Texas' advantage to 60-57.

--Field Level Media