Red Raider Recap: Tech 89, Nicholls State 46

Wednesday, December 14

United Supermarkets Arena

8:00 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

9-1

Nicholls State

5-6

Nicholls State

Texas Tech

Red Raider Recap: Tech 89, Nicholls State 46

December 15, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Game10NichollsState-TexasTechBoxScore December14NichollsStateQuotes

The Red Raiders posted their largest win of the season for the second straight game.

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech men's basketball team came out of its week-long finals break and dialed up a convincing 89-46 win over Nicholls State on Wednesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders (9-1) were fueled by Keenan Evans' 23 points, and Justin Gray's first career double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The duo was a combined 15-of-19 from the field and piled up 26 of their 41 points during the opening half.

The victory enabled Texas Tech to stretch its nonconference home winning streak to 27 consecutive games dating back to the 2013-14 season with 22 of those victories coming by double figures. The Red Raiders have won all five meetings with Nicholls State (5-6).

For Evans, the 23 points marked his second-highest career scoring output and his fourth career game of 20-plus points. He handed out four assists and equaled his season's best with three steals over 23 minutes of action. Evans has reached double-digit points in a career-long five straight outings.

Gray posted a season-high 18 points and hauled down four of his career-best 11 rebounds on the offense end. The Red Raiders amassed a season's best 16 offensive rebounds.

Zach Smith chipped in 13 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. The block pushed Smith's career total to 109 which ties him with Will Flemons (1990-93) for second place on Texas Tech's all-time list.

"We mentioned the adversity he (Justin Gray) went through earlier with his grandfather," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "He missed practice for a couple days to go the funeral. Then when he came back, he was really dialed in. I think he got back around 9:30 p.m. on Monday and went straight to the film room. He got caught up with the scouting report so I had a lot of confidence that he was ready to play tonight just from his mental approach.

"Specifically with those guys [Keenan Evans and Justin Gray] elevating their game tonight, that's what we need," Beard continued. "I tell the guys all the time that we're going to try to play well as a team offensively and defensively, be unselfish and have a scouting report. But to win at this level especially what's coming in late December with the Big 12, is sometimes you've just got to go make a play. You've got to go make a Big 12 play. You've got to let your talent permeate the game. I thought, tonight, you saw that. Guys hitting big shots. Zach [Smith] and Justin coming out of nowhere. We had extra passes, so to me, it felt like some Big 12 type intensity tonight in the arena. That's good because it's coming quickly."
Off the bench, Niem Stevenson has provided double figures in back-to-back games. He finished with 11 points and matched a career-high with five rebounds. The Red Raiders also received eight points apiece courtesy of Shadell Millinghaus and Matthew Temple.

Anthony Livingston notched six points, seven rebounds and two assists whereas Devon Thomas distributed a career-high six assists for the second straight game. Aaron Ross logged 16 minutes of court time off the bench after a five-game absence for the Red Raiders.

"I thought he [Ross] had a great mental approach," Beard said. "I didn't think he was out there trying to score 20 points. I think he literally was out there trying to help the team and get his feet under him. After the game tonight, the game ball went to Chris Williams, our trainer. He's done an unbelievable job the last 16 days getting Ross back out on the court. Our team doctor, Doctor Stovall, supported all of this. This is an injury most people might be out for 30 days, Ross is back 16 days later. So, it starts with the doctor. Then, Chris Williams did an unbelievable job. And then give Ross a lot of credit. This isn't a rehab where you just come in at 3:30 every afternoon. This is seven, eight times a day all the way up until he goes to bed. Setting the alarm at 4 a.m. and getting some ice on it. Discipline goes into this kind of rehab. I'm very thankful to have Chris as our trainer."

Texas Tech converted on 31 of its 58 shot attempts and posted over a 50 percent field goal clip for the seventh time in its first 10 games. The Red Raiders hit 8-for-21 on three-pointers and 19-for-25 at the free throw line.

Texas Tech dominated the specialty stat categories and racked up 34 of the game's 40 points in the paint. The Red Raiders also held a healthy 33-10 edge in points off turnovers, an 18-0 advantage in second-chance points and limited their opponent to 50 points or less for the fourth time this season.

Nicholls State countered with a 17-of-51 shooting effort, a 9-of-27 clip from beyond the three-point line and a 3-of-6 mark on foul shots. Jahvaughn Powell paced the Colonels with 18 points and was the only Nicholls State player to reach double figures.

After allowing the opening basket, Texas Tech seized the momentum with 18 of the next 21 points over a 5:37 span. The Red Raiders capped the flurry with four triples ignited by Gray and Stevenson. Evans buried a pair 55 seconds apart to make it 18-5 with 13:15 remaining.

Ahead 33-21 at the 4:50 mark, Texas Tech used a 12-2 spurt to extend its lead to 22 points heading into the locker room. Gray soared in for a high-flying dunk on an offensive putback, and Smith tacked on a layup through contact.

Stevenson added a steal and went the distance for a left-handed layup. Evans bookended the run with a putback layup and free throws sandwiched between an assist to Temple for a midrange jumper to bring the score to 45-23 at the half.

Texas Tech continued to apply pressure and took a 75-35 advantage with 7:18 left. Smith found a cutting Gray for a layup followed by Gray returning the favor to Stevenson on a bounce pass for a two-handed jam to beat the Nicholls zone defense on back-to-back possessions. The Red Raiders wrapped up the 43-point triumph with a Millinghaus layup off a nice feed from Thomas.

"The positives are that we held them to 23 points in the first (half) and 23 in the second (half)," Beard said. "That shows that we weren't playing the scoreboard. We were consistently playing the game. As much as I talk about being perfect, and I know it's hard to play with a big lead, but I thought for the most part tonight our guys were really playing the game and respecting the game. They were respecting the opponent, and it didn't get sloppy out there even with a big lead."

Texas Tech travels to Richmond on Saturday for its only true road game in nonconference action. Tipoff is slated for 11:30 a.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPNU along with the Watch ESPN app.

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.