It was a match worthy of two gold medals. From the opening game to the final point some four hours later, Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro put on a spectacular show.In the end, it was Murray who outlasted his Argentine opponent 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 to strike gold for the second straight Olympics.Here are five takeaways from a battle that wont exit our memory bank anytime soon.1. Murray becomes the first player to win two golds in the OlympicsCertainly, tennis doesnt have the Olympic history of some other sports, but after a lengthy hiatus, it made its return as a full medal event in 1988. Since then, no player had won two gold medals, never mind consecutive Olympic championships. Until now, that is. Four years ago, Murray thrilled his home fans in London by taking?Roger Federer?out in the finale, and on Sunday in Rio, he squeezed by del Potro in an electric gold-medal match.2. Murray thrives playing for his countryTrue, Murray had a long history of falling short on the grand stage. He started his career by becoming the second player in the Open era to drop his first four Grand Slam finals. (The other was Murrays current coach, Ivan Lendl.) To date, Murray has lost all five of his Australian Open championship matches. But dont discount the motivation Murray has when it comes to playing for his country. In 2013, he captured Wimbledon and became the first British player since Fred Perry 77 years earlier to win the title. Last season, he led his British team to its first Davis Cup championship since 1936. Now, a month after snaring the Wimbledon title for a second time, Murray -- Great Britains flag-bearer last week -- owns two golds.3. Del Potro is no ordinary No. 141The 6-foot-6 Argentine has experienced setbacks no top-tier tennis player should endure. He has undergone four wrist surgeries and missed more than two years worth of action. All this came after he stirred the New York crowd with a punishing, five-set win over Federer in the 2009 US Open final. Since then, del Potro has spent most of his time either sidelined or toiling on the comeback trail to find a modicum of the player he once was. But make no mistake: When the US Open rolls around in a couple weeks, no seeded player is going to want to see him in the opening round. Just ask Novak Djokovic.?4. A forehand, a serve and a heartSince he came back from his wrist surgeries, del Potros backhand has more or less been relegated to a slice that doesnt penetrate through the court in the same manner as a traditional, two-handed shot. Thus, he relies on a colossal forehand and a serve equally as heavy to get through matches. But del Potros bread and butter these days might be the size of his heart. There were many times against Rafael Nadal in the Rio semifinals and again in Sundays championship match when del Potro appeared drained, both mentally and physically. But the raucous support of the South American crowd wouldnt let him give in. Del Potro broke into tears of happiness many times the past week, including after his massive upset of Djokovic and his shocking win over Nadal on Saturday.5. Protecting the serve proved difficultOf all the noteworthy stats in this 4-hour, 2-minute classic, perhaps the one that stood out most was the breaks of serve. In total, there were 15 -- nine from Murray and six by del Potro. At one point, ranging from the end of the third set to the beginning of the fourth, the players exchanged five straight breaks. Later, with del Potro up 5-4 and serving to send the match to a decisive fifth set, he was broken once again. In the next game, Murray was down 15-40 but strung together four straight points to take a 6-5 lead. Finally, if not fittingly, Murray broke del Potro one last time to grab his latest gold medal. Wholeasale Eagles Jerseys . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. Braxton Miller Jersey . 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AUSTIN, Texas -- Tevin Mack powered over two defenders for a tough layup, hit the floor and picked himself up to flex his muscles and smile.Mack was back and so was No. 23 Texas.The sophomore forward scored 14 points after returning from a one-game suspension, and the Longhorns used a big second half to roll over Louisiana-Monroe 80-59 on Monday night.Im just glad we came back with a win, Mack said. I had a little bit of nerves, but I fought through that real quick.The Longhorns were back to full strength with the return of Mack and guard Kerwin Roach Jr. from one-game suspensions for offseason rules violations, giving Texas (2-0) some of the muscle, speed and depth it lacked in a sloppy season-opening win over Incarnate Word . Neither started Monday night but both were on the court within minutes of the opening tip.Mack made four 3-pointers and Roach had 11 points and two assists.I was excited to be back on the court and not on the bench, Roach said. We want to get out and run.Louisiana-Monroe (1-1) cut Texas lead to 46-40 on a 3-pointer from Jordan Harris before the Longhorns responded with a 16-4 run. Kendal Yancy scored five straight points, made a 3-pointer and threw down a dunk in transition that made it 62-44 with just under 8 minutes left.Texas defense took over from there. Louisiana-Monroe struggled to penetrate and the Longhorns bigger players constantly pushed the Warhawks further out on the edge than they wanted to be.Texas guard Andrew Jones said coach Shaka Smart pushed the Longhorns on defense after their season opener.Coach really encouraged us to be aggressive. Be dogs, Jones said.Yancy finished with 12 points and Jones scored 12 and had a team-high four assists. Texas freshman forward Jarrett Allen followed a double-double in his debut with eight points and three rebounds.Marvin Jean-Pierre scored 13 for Louisiana-Monnroe, which shot just 30 percent.ddddddddddddBIG PICTURELouisiana-Monroe: The Warhawks tried to punch above their weight in the Big 12 but missed their chance at an upset. Early 3-point shooting built a short-lived lead, but Texas size and speed eventually took over.Our program has had length the last two years at our level, and after seeing the Longhorns tonight, I miss it, coach Keith Richard said. They forced us out just a step or two from where we needed to be.Texas: A much smoother performance after the struggle against Incarnate Word. Getting Roach and Mack back in the lineup gave Texas more options to attack both inside and out. Smart even used a four-guard, up-tempo attack that hell want to build on before the start of Big 12 play.POLL IMPLICATIONSTexas slid down two spots in the AP Top 25 after its opener. This one should give voters more confidence.INSIDE THE BOXSCORETexas was shaky from the free throw line (13 of 21) and got outrebounded (43-41). But the Longhorns shot 50 percent, blocked five shots and didnt give the ball away, committing just five turnovers.The addition of Mack and Roach also kept Texas fresh. Four Longhorns played 32 minutes or more in the season opener. No one got more than 24 minutes against Louisiana-Monroe.They were able to get a break. You can play harder that way, Smart said.HE SAID ITSmart on getting players