AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Playing in his final home game, senior Jon Holmes scored 10 points and blocked four shots, helping Texas defeat Kansas State 62-49 Saturday in the final regular season game for both teams.
Holmes, a 6-foot-8 forward, made a pair of critical 3-pointers in the second half as the Longhorns pulled away.
Demarcus Holland led Texas with 12 points. Connor Lammert scored 11. Isaiah Taylor produced 10 points and six assists.
Texas (19-12, 8-10 Big 12) kept its tenuous chances of reaching the NCAA tournament alive with the victory.
Kansas State (15-16, 8-10) is in jeopardy of not even receiving a spot in the National Invitation Tournament after falling to 1-10 on the road.
Guard Marcus Foster and forward Thomas Gipson scored 15 points apiece for Kansas State. Gipson grabbed 11 rebounds.
Foster was suspended the first time Texas and Kansas State met for a violation of team rules, a game the Longhorns won 61-57 on Feb. 7.
Texas, after leading by eight at halftime, failed to make a field goal until the 12:53 mark of the second half. The Longhorns made three free throws during that span.
Javan Felix made that first basket of the half, a fast-break layup. Within the next six minutes, the Longhorns had three-point possessions three times. Holmes made consecutive 3-point shots, and then center Cam Ridley made a dunk and a free throw, the former an alley-oop assisted by Kendal Yancy.
Texas made an 11-0 push late in the first half to take a 34-26 halftime lead. Kansas State failed to make a field goal during the final 4:34 of the half, settling for two free throws.
 Lammert made a pair of 3-point baskets during the streak, and center Prince Ibeh contributed an alley-oop dunk after taking a pass from Yancy on a fast break.
The Longhorns tied a school record for blocks in a half with 10, including three apiece by Holmes and center Cam Ridley, and tied the mark for blocks in a game with 14 total.
 Holmes made two of his blocks in span of 30 seconds during the final 1:11 of the half, an atonement of sorts for him. Right before the first block, Holmes missed a driving layup, enabling Kansas State to start a fast break. Holmes, a senior playing in his last home game, retreated quickly on defense and swatted a shot attempt by Nigel Johnson.
TIP-INS
Texas: The Longhorns' game against unranked Kansas State stopped a streak of five straight against teams ranked in the Associated Press top 25. They lost to Oklahoma, Iowa State, West Virginia and Kansas before beating No. 14 Baylor on Monday.
Kansas State: Go figure. The Wildcats are respectable 5-6 against opponents that are in the top-25 of the Ratings Percentage Index, one of several resources the NCAA tournament selection committee has at its disposal.
They beat Kansas (No. 2 RPI) and Iowa State (14) in a span of six days in late February. But Kansas State is only 7-4 against teams outside the top 100. The Wildcats lost to Texas Southern (No. 138) at home and to Texas Tech (175) and TCU (128) on the road.
UP NEXT
Texas faces Texas Tech in the Big 12 tournament Wednesday in Kansas City.
Kansas State faces TCU in the Big 12 tournament Wednesday in Kansas City.