Red Raider Recap: Tech 87, UTSA 50

Wednesday, December 7

United Supermarkets Arena

7:00 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

8-1

UTSA

2-7

UTSA

Texas Tech

December 08, 2016 | Men's Basketball

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Texas Tech had five players hit double figures for the fourth time this season.

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech men's basketball team turned in another dominant performance in all phases of the game and led wire-to-wire for the fourth time on the season en route to an 87-50 win over UTSA on Wednesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders (8-1) produced their largest margin of victory during the 2016-17 season and had five players register 10-plus points for the fourth time this season. The win was Texas Tech's 26th straight in nonconference action since 2013-14 with 21 of the wins coming by double figures.

Keenan Evans and Niem Stevenson turned in 16 points apiece on a combined 12-for-19 from the floor. For Stevenson, he made his first career start with the 16 points being a season-high. He also collected season's best with five rebounds, four assists and two steals over his 27 minutes of action.

Evans tucked away 16 points, three assists and three steals. He reached 10-plus points for the seventh time in nine games.

Off the bench, Matthew Temple led the way with a career-high 13 points coupled with six rebounds and three rebounds.

Justin Gray and Anthony Livingston tacked on 10 points apiece for the Red Raiders. Devon Thomas filled the box score with seven points, six rebounds and a career-high six assists against zero turnovers.

Shadell Millinghaus came away with six points followed by Giovanni McLean's five points and two assists. Thomas Brandsma added four points and three rebounds.

"I was just telling Chris Level on the radio; I don't think in all of my years of coaching, I normally don't single out individual players after the game because you always want to watch the film," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "It's a team sport. Even Anthony [Livingston] had the special night the other night [against Rice], you know, a good team win, but I single out Devon tonight, because I think sometimes the motivation you need is right in front of you. You don't need to go to a movie, you don't need to go get on YouTube or go listen to a motivational speaker. Sometimes, the motivation is right in front of you."

"Let's talk about Devon," Beard continued. "Last year, he was a reserve kind of player – always on the fringe. He's basically just bought in to everything we've asked of him since we got here. I'm probably tougher on Devon than anybody else on this team because I know that we've got to get something out of him to have the kind of season we all want to have. Tonight was a great example. Six assists, no turnovers, made a three-point shot. He works tirelessly on his shooting. He rebounded the ball from the three-point spot. I don't ever want to be one of those coaches that thanks the players at the banquet. I mean, let's thank the players during the journey. I will single Devon out tonight for one of the greatest games I've ever been a part of. Just how wired and dialed he was in to the game and he played great tonight."

The Red Raiders sank 32-of-61 from the floor and connected on 9-of-22 from beyond the three-point line. Texas Tech was a flawless 14-of-14 at the charity stripe and turned 14 UTSA miscues into a 23-8 advantage in points off turnovers.

UTSA was limited to a 19-for-54 shooting performance which included a 5-for-21 clip on three-pointers. The Roadrunners hit 7-for-10 from the free throw and were led by Jeff Beverly's 10 points.

Texas Tech raced out to 21-4 lead in the game's opening first seven minutes. Evans opened the scoring with a runner off the glass followed by an Evans steal turning into a Gray layup in transition. Stevenson tacked on a three-ball to make it 7-0 with 17:40 remaining.

The Red Raiders continued to attack on offense as Gray, Brandsma, Evans and Livingston added layups. Temple capped the spurt and buried a triple on the left wing to give Texas Tech the 21-4 advantage.

The Red Raiders maintained control and finished the opening 20 minutes with a 7-1 run to grab a 42-21 halftime spread. Thomas found Livingston for a trey at the top of the key whereas Stevenson knocked down two free throws and Millinghaus notched a transition layup courtesy of Thomas in transition.

Texas Tech played a complete second half and converted on 15-of-28 from the field. All nine players who saw action scored at least five points.

The Red Raiders held a 30-point margin for a majority of the closing 12 minutes. Texas Tech wrapped up the victory with a Millinghaus layup from Stevenson.

"Above all, we've got to get healthy," Beard said. "If anybody has got a suggestion on that, let me know. We miss Norense [Odiase], we miss [Aaron] Ross and not tonight the thing with Zach [Smith] was just a freaky thing. So, we've just got to get healthy more than anything. It sounds kind of like an obvious given, but there's a calculated method to getting healthy too. We've got to make sure as coaches we're getting those guys rest. It's a tough time to be a college basketball player because you've got final exams that are weighing on you. You've got games in this break, and you've got Christmas. Our guys don't get a long break, they get two days off. The stresses that are on you. We've got to rehab and continue to get better during this time, but above all we've got to get our team healthy. From a basketball standpoint, I think we've just got to continue to improve. Every coach says that. What does that mean? We've got to get better. We've got to continue to work on our offense, our defense, our execution and even our chemistry. I think we're going in the right direction. "

Texas Tech will turn its attention to final exams and return to action next Wednesday against Nicholls State. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by FOX Sports Southwest Plus along with the FOX Sports Go 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.