Damion James scores 18 points and No. 3 Texas beats Western Carolina 73-41

James’ 18 points lead No. 3 Texas past W. Carolina

AUSTIN, Texas — Damion James scored 18 points and No. 3 Texas continued to break in its talented group of freshmen with a 73-41 win over Western Carolina on Wednesday night.

James, a senior, also grabbed seven rebounds, falling three short of his 39th career double-double for the Longhorns (2-0).

Gary Johnson, a junior forward who played just 14 minutes in Texas’ season-opening win over UC-Irvine, added 10 points and seven rebounds. Freshman point guard J’Covan Brown scored 10 points and had his first assists of the season, finishing with three assists against six turnovers.

Harouna Mutombo scored 10 points to lead the Catamounts (1-1).

Texas’ freshmen looked nervous Sunday against UC-Irvine, and this one wasn’t without early missteps. But there weren’t as many mistakes — or minutes on the court — as coach Rick Barnes continued mixing and matching young players with veterans.

Brown’s 21 minutes were the most of the young players. He had an early turnover in the opening minutes and Avery Bradley put up on an air ball on a 3-pointer on his first attempt. But Bradley gave Texas its first lead with a steal and dunk that started a 20-6 run. Johnson scored six points in the spurt.

Brown was academically ineligible to play last season and is working the rust off his game, but found his shooting touch late in the first half. He made two 3-pointers and a driving, scoop layup at the buzzer that gave Texas a 43-24 halftime lead.

Brown also got a rude welcome to college ball when the Catamounts ran him into a hard screen midway through the second half. He stayed on the ground for a few seconds but was able to keep playing.

Johnson was a prime example of the luxury of depth Texas should enjoy this season. He played sparingly in the season opener, but was 4-of-4 shooting in 19 minutes against the Catamounts.

Texas outrebounded Western Carolina 47-32 and held the Catamounts to 26 percent shooting.

Western Carolina was much more athletic that UC-Irvine, but Texas will take a major step up in competition next week against Iowa in the championship round of the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic.