by Christian Hay and Nathan Boles
No. 9 Texas Tech Red Raider men’s basketball rode a second-half surge to defeat the TCU Horned Frogs 82-69 Saturday at the United Supermarkets Arena.
Although junior Terrence Shannon, Jr. did not start the game, he most definitely found his rhythm once he was in, finishing with 20 points. Super senior Bryson Williams added 16 points, rebounding from Wednesday’s five-point performance.
The Red Raiders have now won seven of their last eight games against the Horned Frogs.
Tech is now 15-0 at home and 19-6 on the season. Their 8-4 record in the Big 12 is good for third place.
TCU drops to 5-5 in the Big 12 and 16-6 overall.
First Half: It Was Raining TCU Threes
In the first half, Tech was not amazing on the offensive end while TCU was able to get multiple wide open looks from behind the arc.
In the 15th minute, Marcus Santos-Silva went down hard with what appeared to be a blow to the head. He got attention from the medical staff and was able to return to the game and put up nine points along with two rebounds.
Later in the half, Kevin McCullar elevated for the three pointer, came down on the TCU sideline and landed on head coach Jamie Dixon’s foot. McCullar left the game and did not return for the second half.
Tech head coach Mark Adams said nothing was broken and it is likely a high ankle sprain.
While the half started off heavily favoring TCU, who was up 35-22 with 5:22 left, Tech was able to turn it around in the later minutes of the half.
The Red Raiders ended the half on a 15-5 run capped off with a nasty left-handed dunk from Shannon, and they were only down 40-37 going into halftime.
Second Half Domination From Texas Tech
TCU guard Mike Miles said Texas Tech was “a different team in the second half.”
The Red Raiders were able to strike first in the second half on a bucket from senior Davion Warren, then got the ball back immediately as Warren stole it. The Red Raiders had 13 total steals on the night.
The defense continued to collapse, leading to baskets going in left and right. Tech got their biggest lead of the night when Shannon made a triple to put the Red Raiders up 68-47.
Tech was able to force 20 turnovers, 13 of them in the second half, and Tech scored 26 of their 82 points off TCU turnovers.
From the 5:22 mark in the first half to the 5:11 mark in the second half, Texas Tech outscored TCU 58-24 in a blistering display on both offense and defense.
Williams, who scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half, said the team feeds off the energy at the USA and can always rely on the fans to come support.
“I’m going to say it time and time again, we got the best fans in the country,” Williams said. “They show out on Saturday at 3:00, and they’d come Saturday if we played at 8:00 in the morning.”
Up Next
The Red Raiders will play No. 10 Baylor in Lubbock on Wednesday and No. 20 Texas in Austin on Feb. 19. Tech has beaten both teams in their previous matchups this season.
Adams said he hopes McCullar will be ready for the Baylor game, but they will see how he progresses.
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