Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
Arkansas
Men's Basketball Outlasted by Arkansas in Overtime, 75-68
January 30, 2016 | Men's Basketball
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Zach Smith piled up a career-high 19 points, but the Texas Tech men's basketball team was handed a 75-68 overtime setback by Arkansas as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge Saturday at Bud Walton Arena.
The Red Raiders (12-8) rallied from an 11-point hole midway through the second half and worked their way to a four-point lead in the closing minutes.
However, Arkansas (11-10) was able to comeback behind a pair of second-chance baskets to force overtime. The Razorbacks closed the overtime session with 11 of the final 15 points to tuck away the seven-point decision and snap Tech's nine-game nonconference winning streak.
"It was a hard-fought game," Texas Tech head coach Tubby Smith said. "We had our chances, but we didn't execute. We didn't get the stops we needed. Mike Anderson, his staff, and his team did a great job. They made the plays that they had to make to get the win."
For Smith, he was an efficient 8-of-12 from the floor and buried eight of his nine attempts from inside the three-point arc. He added five rebounds, three blocks and a steal over his career-best 42 minutes of action. Smith has amassed a career-high point total in two of his last three appearances.
Aaron Ross nearly collected his first career double-double and dialed up 14 points to go along with a career-high tying nine rebounds and a career-best two steals. The Little Rock, Arkansas native tallied 12 of his 14 points after halftime and has reached double figures in five of his last six outings.
Keenan Evans produced 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. The 11 points marked Evans' highest scoring output since a season's best 14 points versus Richmond on Dec. 29.
Devaugntah Williams registered eight of his 10 points during the second half and the extra session. He was 5-of-8 shooting and secured a pair of steals. Toddrick Gotcher tallied eight points, six rebounds and two assists for the Red Raiders.
C.J. Williamson tacked on four points, an assist and a steal whereas Justin Gray was limited to two points and three rebounds before he fouled out.
Texas Tech connected on 26-of-62 from the field but misfired on 12 of its 13 three-point attempts. The Red Raiders sank 15-of-19 at the free throw line. Tech racked up 20 of the game's 24 bench points, and the Red Raiders have totaled 135 bench points over their last four games.
Arkansas countered with a 24-for-57 shooting effort and drained 6-for-19 from three-point territory. The Razorbacks were 21-for-28 at the charity stripe.
Dusty Hannahs poured in 21 of his game-leading 25 points in the first half on a 7-for-10 shooting clip. Moses Kingsley garnered all 17 of his points and hauled down all 11 of his rebounds following halftime, while Anthlon Bell managed 12 points and five rebounds for the Razorbacks.
Facing a 45-34 deficit at the 13:42 mark of the second half, Texas Tech ripped off 11 consecutive points over the next 3:20 to draw even.
Ross ignited the flurry with a pair of free throws, and Williamson shot the passing lane for a steal and a one-handed slam to bring the Red Raiders back to 45-38 with 12:39 remaining. Then, Ross turned an offensive rebound into a layup. Evans drove the lane for another layup and found a high-flying Smith for a traditional three-point play on a layup which knotted the score at 45-45 with 10:22 to go.
Texas Tech went ahead 48-47 as Ross leaned in for a runner on the left baseline. He was fouled and rattled home the free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play.
The Red Raiders grabbed a two-possession advantage after a Williams runner in the lane during a late shot clock situation to make it 60-56 at the 1:16 mark. Arkansas tied the contest at 60-60 with consecutive second-chance layups courtesy of Trey Thompson and Kingsley.
With 9.4 seconds on the clock, Texas Tech had an opportunity to win the game in regulation out of a timeout. Williams drove the baseline, went under the basket but was unable to knock down the reverse layup in traffic as the buzzer sounded.
The two teams exchanged the first eight points of overtime, but Arkansas surged ahead on a Bell trey followed by a Kingsley dunk off a missed jumper. The Razorbacks put together an 11-4 spurt over the final 2:36 of the extra session.
"I want them to do what we tell them to do, like pick the ball up and don't try to dribble it," Smith said. "Like box out and rebound. Like guard the three. Like they have been taught. That's what I want them to do. We had to switch to a zone defense out of desperation because we couldn't guard the one-on-one. We couldn't guard Dusty at all."
Texas Tech started strong and built a 14-4 lead with 15:40 to go in the opening half. Gotcher opened the scoring with a midrange jumper on the left baseline before Smith chipped in a putback layup and a one-handed flush off a steal to give Tech a 6-0 edge.
Evans scooted through traffic for a left-handed layup. Gotcher canned two free throws and ran the fastbreak to perfection with Gray which resulted in a Gray layup. Evans capped the flurry by 16-foot jumper in transition.
After going 6-for-9 to start the game, the Red Raiders were only able to hit on 6-for-19 to close the opening half. Hannahs found his rhythm for Arkansas and exploded for 19 of his 21 points during the final 10 minutes of the frame to give the Razorbacks a 29-28 halftime advantage.
Arkansas carried that momentum into a 16-6 flurry to begin the second 20 minutes and claim its largest lead of 45-34 at the 13:42 mark.
Texas Tech returns to Big 12 action and opens its February slate Wednesday with the first of two meetings versus Oklahoma State. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT from United Supermarkets Arena, and the game will be televised by ESPNU in addition to being available on www.WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app.
Fans can purchase tickets online at www.TexasTech.com for as low as $7 by using the promo code STAR WARS in the top right-hand corner and click Go. Tickets also are available for purchase on gameday starting 90 minutes prior to tipoff at the United Supermarkets Arena Ticket Office.
Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/TexasTechMBB and @TexasTechMBB on Twitter.
