The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

A lighter more slender Shaquille Cleare has been the anchor on the Texas Longhorns’ frontline and helped spark a come from behind win this weekend to snap his team’s three-game losing streak.

Cleare finished with 11 points and five rebounds in the Longhorns’ 77–68 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, on Saturday.

Cleare reached double figures in scoring for the first time this season and the third time in his Longhorns career (40 games).

His 11 points were a season high after he previously scored eight twice and just three points shy of his Longhorns career high scored last season against Baylor.

Cleare also stood out on the defensive end with a momentum-shifting block that sparked a Texas run and erased a 12 point halftime deficit.

The Longhorns improved to 4–3 on the season and face another tough test as they travel to face the Michigan Wolverines Tuesday.

He entered his senior season listed at 275 pounds, 10 pounds fewer than last year’s playing weight of 285.

In roughly 400 minutes of play last season, Cleare finished with just one blocked shot. This season, he has already blocked six shots in the last five games alone.

The Longhorns have produced consecutive Big 12 Defensive Players of the Year in Myles Turner and Prince Ibeh and lean on Cleare to help fill that void with a young frontline.

Cleare averaged 3.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game as a junior last season, his first with the Longhorns after transferring from Maryland. He spent the previous season as a redshirt, but worked out with the Longhorns and went through two-a-day practices routinely.

He committed to the Longhorns under head coach Rick Barnes. However, Barnes was replaced by former VCU head coach Smart last offseason.

Cleare, a native of Andros, completed high school at the Village School in Houston, Texas, where he averaged 26.5 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks per game. He was listed as the No.30 overall prospect by ESPN and No.53 by Rivals.com for the Class of 2012.

Following his stellar high school career, Cleare appeared in 37 of 38 games for the Terps, including eight starts. He averaged 3.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 12 minutes per game as the team finished 25-13, 8-10 in the ACC.

As a sophomore, Cleare averaged three points and 2.5 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game while appearing in all 32 games with 20 starts.