Red Raider Recap: Tech 67, Texas 57

Wednesday, March 1

United Supermarkets Arena

8:00 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

18-12 (6-11B12)

Texas

10-20 (4-13B12)

Texas

Texas Tech

March 02, 2017 | Men's Basketball

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The Red Raiders have won four consecutive Senior Night games dating back to the 2013-14 season.

LUBBOCK, Texas – The trio of Keenan Evans, Justin Gray and Aaron Ross combined for 44 points, and the Texas Tech men's basketball team tucked away a 67-57 Senior Night victory over Texas Wednesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders (18-12, 6-11 Big 12) put their season-long three-game losing streak in the rear view mirror and moved into a seventh-place tie with TCU in the Big 12 standings. The 10-point victory over Texas (10-20, 4-13 Big 12) was the program's largest margin of victory over the Longhorns since a 92-81 win at the 2003 Big 12 Tournament.

"Tonight was our night," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "It was about our seniors. It's probably my least favorite night of the whole season – Senior Night. Simply stated, I don't want these guys to leave. I want to coach [Aaron] Ross for another year. I don't know how he feels, but I'd like to coach him for another year. There's a lot of pressure on Senior Night. These guys have family coming in and a lot of things going on around the game. For these seniors to get us off to a good start and all contribute in the game, I was just really pleased. Tonight was about them."

Evans and Gray did their damage off the bench as Texas Tech started all five members of its senior class. Evans registered 18 points on the strength of a 10-for-10 effort at the free throw line. The 18 points allowed Evans to push his streak of double figure games to 18 straight. He also dished out three assists.

Gray tacked on 13 of his 15 points during the second half. He was 6-of-10 from the floor and added four rebounds. He has pieced three consecutive games with 10-plus points, and Texas Tech has won 10 of 13 games on the season when Gray reaches double figures.

Ross dialed up 13 points and six rebounds in his 109th career appearance. The Arkansas native broke through for his highest scoring output since his season's best 18 games versus Oklahoma on Feb. 4.

Anthony Livingston, Niem Stevenson and Zach Smith added five points apiece. Stevenson hauled down a team-leading seven rebounds coupled with three assists. Shadell Millinghaus, Matthew Temple and Devon Thomas also contributed field goals.

Texas Tech knocked down 24-of-50 from the field and connected for 4-of-13 on three-pointers. The Red Raiders hit on 15-of-19 at the free throw line fueled by a 10-of-12 clip during the second half. Texas Tech worked its way to a 33-28 rebounding advantage.

The Longhorns came away with a 23-for-54 shooting effort but misfired on 17 of their 22 three-point attempts. Texas was limited to a 6-for-12 mark on free throws and held a 28-20 edge in paint points.

The Longhorns had three players in double figures headed Shaquille Cleare's 15 points on an effective and efficient 7-of-8 shooting clip. Jacob Young picked up a career-high 14 points followed by Jarrett Allen's 12th double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The two teams traded four ties and 10 lead changes during the opening 20 minutes.

Facing a 22-21 deficit at the 6:04 mark, Texas Tech charged ahead behind a 13-4 spurt over the next 5:40 off the clock. Millinghaus started the flurry with a left-handed layup. Then, Evans used a shot fake to free himself and buried a midrange jumper on the left wing. Thomas got a friendly roll on a runner in the lane to give the Red Raiders a 27-22 lead with 3:43 remaining.

The Red Raiders continued to push after two Evans free throws. Ross buried a three-pointer with eight seconds left only to be matched by Young as the buzzer sounded which gave Texas Tech a 34-29 advantage heading into the locker room.

The Red Raiders fired out of the gates with 14 of the opening 16 points of the second half to take control of the game. Texas Tech surged ahead by double figures after piecing together a Stevenson layup, two Evans free throws and a Smith jumper on the left baseline.

The run was capped by back-to-back Gray jumpers and a thunderous dunk by Smith off a nice feed from Stevenson to bring the score to 48-31 with 15:49 to go.

Texas was able to climb back to within nine points on three occasions, the latest at 62-53 on a Young three-ball with 1:56 left. The Red Raiders answered right away and broke the press with a Gray layup which turned into a traditional three-point play.

"I thought he (Justin Gray) was aggressive," Beard said. "When he plays aggressive, he's got the chance to be one of the better players in the Big 12. When you're playing in the team concept, it's hard to always be aggressive. You have to pick and choose your times. I thought tonight he did that. Late, I'm calling to pull the ball out because it's more of a mathematical game. We can win this game if we kill the shot clock, but that's Justin being a warrior and a competitor. I respect that. To me, mistakes are part of basketball. If mistakes are made within being aggressive and within being competitive and trying to make a play then I have no problem with it. That's Justin Gray."

Texas Tech concludes the regular season with a trip to Kansas State on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. CT from Bramlage Coliseum, and the game will be televised by ESPNEWS along with being available on www.WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app. The winner of Saturday's matchup has the possibility of earning the No. 6 seed and a first day bye at the 2017 Big 12 Tournament.

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.