Wednesday, November 23
Cancun, Mexico
5:00 PM
Texas Tech Athletics
4-1
75
vs
51
Utah State
3-2
1
2
F
Utah State
32
19
51
Texas Tech
30
45
75
Red Raider Recap: Tech 75, Utah State 51
November 23, 2016 | Men's Basketball
The Red Raiders closed the game with a 21-3 spurt over the final seven minutes of the game.
CANCUN, Mexico – Anthony Livingston and Zach Smith poured in 31 of their combined 47 points during the second half, and the Texas Tech men's basketball team fired off a 75-51 victory over Utah State Wednesday in the consolation round of the Cancun Challenge in Mexico.
The Red Raiders (4-1) piled up 45 second-half points and limited Utah State (3-2) without a field goal over the closing 6:14 of the contest. Texas Tech has averaged 42.4 points per game in the second half and outscored all five of its opponents by double figures.
Livingston cranked out 28 points and nine rebounds over his 32 minutes of action. He was 10-of-16 shooting and buried five three-pointers after being limited to a season-low three points during last night's game versus Auburn.
"It's all about how you respond," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "Last night was probably one of the most disappointing nights for him (Livingston) in his playing career. Character comes out during adversity. Anthony really responded like a senior is supposed to. "
Smith, a Cancun Challenge All-Tournament Team pick, amassed 21 points and was an efficient 9-of-10 from the floor sparked by a quartet of highlight reel dunks. The last time the Red Raiders had two players reach 20-plus points when teamed with Aaron Ross for 25 and 23 points, respectively.
"He's (Smith) a special player with his athleticism," Beard said. "He can play in another part of the game, the air space. The defense can play good, fundamental defense but then you can throw the ball above the rim where those guys can't get it. Give Keenan (Evans) a lot of credit. He threw great passes to Zach above the rim."
Keenan Evans filled the box score with six points, seven rebounds and four assists. The seven rebounds matched a career-high for Evans.
Justin Gray dialed up six points and four rebounds. He put the clamps down defensively on Utah State's Jalen Moore and held him to six points on 2-of-7 after a 15-point opening half.
Giovanni McLean came away with five points and two rebounds, while Devon Thomas tallied four points and equaled a career-best five assists in his first career start.
As a team, Texas Tech was 29-for-54 shooting and knocked down 18 of their 28 attempts in the second half. The Red Raiders converted on 7-for-17 from three-point territory and 10-for-14 at the foul line.
Texas Tech enforced its will on the interior and garnered a 32-16 advantage in paint points. The Red Raiders also possessed healthy ratios with 15-7 in points off turnovers and 13-6 in second-chance points.
Utah State connected for 19-of-48 from the field and registered a 6-of-23 clip on three-pointers. After hitting four of their first five, the Aggies misfired on 16 of their last 18 treys. USU was 7-of-11 from the free throw line. Outside of Moore, no other Utah State player reached double digit points.
The Red Raiders erased an early 24-12 lead during the game's opening 10 minutes. Moore started fast with 13 points aided by a trio of triples for the Aggies.
Texas Tech worked its way back into the game and used a 13-3 spurt during the last 3:49 to trim the deficit down to 32-30 at halftime.
Smith kickstarted the charge with a trifecta on the right basesline. After two Thomas Brandsma free throws, Thomas found a McLean for another three-ball late shot clock to make it 29-25 with 2:32 on the clock. Then, Thomas found Livingston for a layup followed by a three-pointer at the top of the key to bring the tally to 32-30.
The Red Raiders set the second-half tone on the stanza's first possession. Evans found a soaring Smith for a slam 14 seconds in.
Utah State was able to regroup and took a 40-36 lead at the 16:31 mark courtesy of a Moore layup. The Red Raiders answered with 18 of the next 26 points during the ensuing 8:07 to go ahead 54-46 with 10:32 to go. The flurry was highlighted by Smith, who broke his man off the dribble for a dunk. Gray put the finishing touches with a steal at halfcourt and thunderous one-handed jam.
The Aggies got as close as six points at 56-50 with 6:19 left before the Red Raiders put the game away with its their best run of the season. Texas Tech ripped off 17 consecutive points where Livingston took over with 11 which included three treys.
The 24-point win was the Red Raiders third victory by over 20 points and No. 100 for Beard at the NCAA level in four-plus seasons with stops at McMurry, Angelo State, Little Rock and Texas Tech.
"We had a lot of respect for their team," Beard said. "We had post help working with our rotations. We knew if we wanted to stay in the game we had to make some adjustments. We changed our pick-and-roll coverage and stayed on their 3-point shooters."
Texas Tech will complete a stretch of four games in a seven-day span when the Red Raiders face off with Idaho State on Friday. Tip time is slated for 2 p.m. CT from United Supermarkets Arena, and the game will be televised by FOX Sports Southwest.
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 and Instagram.
2016 Cancun Challenge Riviera Division All-Tournament Team
Zach Smith - Texas Tech
Issac Haas - Purdue
Mustapha Heron - Auburn
Jalen Moore - Utah State
Danjel Purifoy - Auburn
MVP: Caleb Swanigan – Purdue
The Red Raiders (4-1) piled up 45 second-half points and limited Utah State (3-2) without a field goal over the closing 6:14 of the contest. Texas Tech has averaged 42.4 points per game in the second half and outscored all five of its opponents by double figures.
Livingston cranked out 28 points and nine rebounds over his 32 minutes of action. He was 10-of-16 shooting and buried five three-pointers after being limited to a season-low three points during last night's game versus Auburn.
"It's all about how you respond," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "Last night was probably one of the most disappointing nights for him (Livingston) in his playing career. Character comes out during adversity. Anthony really responded like a senior is supposed to. "
Smith, a Cancun Challenge All-Tournament Team pick, amassed 21 points and was an efficient 9-of-10 from the floor sparked by a quartet of highlight reel dunks. The last time the Red Raiders had two players reach 20-plus points when teamed with Aaron Ross for 25 and 23 points, respectively.
"He's (Smith) a special player with his athleticism," Beard said. "He can play in another part of the game, the air space. The defense can play good, fundamental defense but then you can throw the ball above the rim where those guys can't get it. Give Keenan (Evans) a lot of credit. He threw great passes to Zach above the rim."
Keenan Evans filled the box score with six points, seven rebounds and four assists. The seven rebounds matched a career-high for Evans.
Justin Gray dialed up six points and four rebounds. He put the clamps down defensively on Utah State's Jalen Moore and held him to six points on 2-of-7 after a 15-point opening half.
Giovanni McLean came away with five points and two rebounds, while Devon Thomas tallied four points and equaled a career-best five assists in his first career start.
As a team, Texas Tech was 29-for-54 shooting and knocked down 18 of their 28 attempts in the second half. The Red Raiders converted on 7-for-17 from three-point territory and 10-for-14 at the foul line.
Texas Tech enforced its will on the interior and garnered a 32-16 advantage in paint points. The Red Raiders also possessed healthy ratios with 15-7 in points off turnovers and 13-6 in second-chance points.
Utah State connected for 19-of-48 from the field and registered a 6-of-23 clip on three-pointers. After hitting four of their first five, the Aggies misfired on 16 of their last 18 treys. USU was 7-of-11 from the free throw line. Outside of Moore, no other Utah State player reached double digit points.
The Red Raiders erased an early 24-12 lead during the game's opening 10 minutes. Moore started fast with 13 points aided by a trio of triples for the Aggies.
Texas Tech worked its way back into the game and used a 13-3 spurt during the last 3:49 to trim the deficit down to 32-30 at halftime.
Smith kickstarted the charge with a trifecta on the right basesline. After two Thomas Brandsma free throws, Thomas found a McLean for another three-ball late shot clock to make it 29-25 with 2:32 on the clock. Then, Thomas found Livingston for a layup followed by a three-pointer at the top of the key to bring the tally to 32-30.
The Red Raiders set the second-half tone on the stanza's first possession. Evans found a soaring Smith for a slam 14 seconds in.
Utah State was able to regroup and took a 40-36 lead at the 16:31 mark courtesy of a Moore layup. The Red Raiders answered with 18 of the next 26 points during the ensuing 8:07 to go ahead 54-46 with 10:32 to go. The flurry was highlighted by Smith, who broke his man off the dribble for a dunk. Gray put the finishing touches with a steal at halfcourt and thunderous one-handed jam.
The Aggies got as close as six points at 56-50 with 6:19 left before the Red Raiders put the game away with its their best run of the season. Texas Tech ripped off 17 consecutive points where Livingston took over with 11 which included three treys.
The 24-point win was the Red Raiders third victory by over 20 points and No. 100 for Beard at the NCAA level in four-plus seasons with stops at McMurry, Angelo State, Little Rock and Texas Tech.
"We had a lot of respect for their team," Beard said. "We had post help working with our rotations. We knew if we wanted to stay in the game we had to make some adjustments. We changed our pick-and-roll coverage and stayed on their 3-point shooters."
Texas Tech will complete a stretch of four games in a seven-day span when the Red Raiders face off with Idaho State on Friday. Tip time is slated for 2 p.m. CT from United Supermarkets Arena, and the game will be televised by FOX Sports Southwest.
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 and Instagram.
2016 Cancun Challenge Riviera Division All-Tournament Team
Zach Smith - Texas Tech
Issac Haas - Purdue
Mustapha Heron - Auburn
Jalen Moore - Utah State
Danjel Purifoy - Auburn
MVP: Caleb Swanigan – Purdue
Team Stats
USU
TTU
FG%
.396
.537
3FG%
.261
.412
FT%
.636
.714
RB
23
35
TO
12
10
STL
2
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
28
FGM
10
3FGM
5
FTM
3
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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