EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- When the 3s weren't falling as they had been, the 18th-ranked Longhorns went inside for a 70-62 road win.
Freshman point guard Daniel Gibson had 15 points and forwards Jason Klotz and Brad Buckman had 14 and 11, respectively, as Texas downed Seton Hall.
Hours before the game Texas declared freshman forward Mike Williams eligible.
The 6-foot-7 high school All-America from Camden, Ala., missed the first five games while the school sorted out questions regarding his amateur status. A school panel met Thursday and he was declared eligible on Saturday morning. He was never ruled ineligible by the NCAA.
Williams played 13 minutes and had two points and six rebounds.
"I thought Mike responded well being here for the first time," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "Mike through this whole process has not withdrawn from his team and his teammates. The most excited the guys were after the game was for Mike."
Though Williams my have struggled the rest of the team found a way to win.
"I think they did a good job of making us try to score off the dribble and not take open 3," said Gibson, who had five assists. "They did a good job of playing 'D.' I think we responded well going to the paint and feeding guys off the middle."
The Longhorns (5-1) had made at least 10 3-pointers in every game and were hitting 50.4 percent from beyond the arc coming in. They were just 6-for-17 on 3s against Seton Hall (2-2), but two of them came when Texas pulled away with a 7-0 run in the second half.
"It's great having big guys like that in the paint, that when you are closing the game out you can just give them the ball and pretty much get out of the way, and they are going to make something happen," Gibson said. "It's a learning experience for me when the game came down to the end. Now I know if we put the ball in Buck and Jason's hands we'll be all right."
Senior swingman Andre Sweet had a career-high 26 points for the Pirates, who opened the second half with a 12-2 run to get within 40-39 with 13:40 to play.
That was the first of seven times Seton Hall got within one point, but the Pirates were never able to tie or take the lead.
The last time they were within one was 53-52 on a jumper by J.R. Morris with 7:53 left.
Kenny Taylor and Sydmill Harris each hit a 3 around a free throw by LaMarcus Aldridge as Texas took a 60-52 lead. Seton Hall did not get closer than six points the rest of the way as the Pirates had just two field goals over the final 7½ minutes.
"They did just enough to keep us from getting over the hump. This was a tough one," Seton Hall coach Louis Orr said. "This was one of those games where you look and see what you did on defense, keeping a team averaging 88 points to 70, keeping a team shooting 50 percent on 3s to 35. Those are the things you have to do to win and we did a pretty good job."
Gibson and Harris each had two 3s for Texas, which entered the game 60-for-119 from beyond the arc.
"What I like best of all is their attitude, not once did I think they flinched. I didn't think they showed panic," Barnes said of his team. "They just knew that we had to try to put it on our defense and see what would happen."
Seton Hall, which entered the game shooting 47.8 percent from 3-point range, went just 3-for-23 against Texas.
"We had some good looks, we just didn't make them," Orr said. "It's a thin line."
