Red Raider Recap: No. 14 Tech 75, Oklahoma State 70

Tuesday, January 23

United Supermarkets Arena

6:00 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

16-4 (5-3B12)

Oklahoma State

13-7 (3-5B12)

Oklahoma State

Texas Tech

Red Raider Recap: No. 14 Tech 75, Oklahoma State 70

January 24, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Highlights Coach Beard Press Conference Jarrett Culver & Keenan Evans Press Conference Photo Gallery Texas Tech Quotes Oklahoma State Quotes

The Red Raiders overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half for their third comeback of 10-plus points on the season.

LUBBOCK, Texas – Jarrett Culver and Keenan Evans amassed 33 of their combined 51 points after halftime, and the No. 14 Texas Tech men's basketball team erased a 15-point second half deficit en route to a 75-70 victory over Oklahoma State on Tuesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders (16-4, 5-3 Big 12) snapped a season's long two-game losing streak and moved into a four-way tie for second place with Kansas State, Oklahoma and West Virginia in the Big 12 standings. All four teams sit one game behind Big 12 frontrunner Kansas.

The comeback marked the third time that Texas Tech has wiped away a double-digit deficit in the second half this season. The previous two occasions came against then No. 22 Nevada on Dec. 6 and then No. 2 West Virginia on Jan. 13.

"It's just another night in the Big 12," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "These games are so hard to win. Tonight, we're really fortunate. Oklahoma State outplayed us in the first half. Mike (Boynton) does a great job with his team. I think it's one of the untold stories this year in college basketball. The adversity that he's had; getting the job his first year and then the FBI deal. He basically loses two of the all-time great Big 12 players with (Juwan) Evans and (Phil) Forte, and he has his team in the middle of the fight. I have a lot of respect for him. We're really pleased to win tonight against a team that is really good. I think you have to give our guys a lot of credit though too. When our backs are against the wall, effort wasn't a problem tonight. We're trying really hard and pressing a little bit. We want to win so bad for ourselves, for our fans, but I think we made just enough plays. These guys to my left and right (Keenan Evans and Jarrett Culver) played like real Big 12 players tonight protecting our home court. Then, I want to recognize our fans again. Simply stated, we don't win this game if we don't have a home court advantage."

Evans rattled off 22 of his game-leading 26 points during the second half. He was 7-of-13 shooting, drained a trio of three-pointers and produced a 9-of-12 clip at the foul line. Evans eclipsed 20 points for the seventh time this season and 16th time in his career. He also distributed five assists and grabbed three steals over his 37 minutes of action.

Culver exploded for a career-high 25 points aided by four treys and hauled down eight rebounds. He was 8-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-8 on free throws. It marked Culver's second career 20-point outing, his previous best was a 21-point performance against Wofford on Nov. 22.

"Keenan didn't play any different tonight than he has been," Beard said. "He's a great shooter. I don't use that word great a lot. I think he was a good shooter when we came here. Now, he's a great shooter now. I'm not taking the credit for that, but I am saying Keenan has really bought into the process of getting in the gym more than he ever has. A lot of time this happens with seniors; he's got that light. This is his last go around, he wants to play in the post season. What I'm really proud about with Keenan is that he's remained aggressive during this time. He got to the free throw line tonight. He had a 5-assist game. He probably should have had a seven or eight assist game, but some guys missed some easy shots. I've never waivered my opinion with Keenan's jump shot. He's one of the best shooters I've ever coached."

Brandone Francis tacked on eight of his nine points after intermission and added two assists to lead all bench scorers. Niem Stevenson registered six points, two rebounds and a steal followed by Justin Gray's four points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

As a team, Texas Tech was 22-for-52 from the field highlighted by a 10-for-22 mark during the second half. The Red Raiders canned 10-for-19 on three-pointers and hit on six of their nine attempts from deep in the second 20 minutes. Texas Tech was 21-for-33 on free throws.

Oklahoma State (13-7, 3-5 Big 12) came away with a 25-of-54 shooting effort and hit on 7-of-17 from beyond the three-point line. The Cowboys were 13-of-19 at the charity stripe.

Jeffrey Carroll pumped in 16 points whereas Kendall Smith and Lindy Waters III added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Smith and Waters III accounted for 21 of OSU's 36 bench points.

Trailing 48-34 after a Waters III three-ball at the 15:05 mark, the Red Raiders clamped down on both sides of the floor and pieced together a 15-4 spurt over the next 6:38 to pull within one possession.

Francis kickstarted the rally with a driving runner in the lane. Then, Stevenson drove hard to the basket and finished with a two-handed flush to bring the deficit down to 48-38.

The Red Raiders got back within single digits on a Zhaire Smith 13-foot turnaround jumper in the lane. Evans turned his own steal into a fastbreak layup. Francis found Culver for a triple on the right baseline, and Stevenson sank two free throws to make it 52-49 with 8:08 to go.

Texas Tech was not to be denied and made it a one-point game at 58-57 with 4:46 left as Culver drove baseline for a layup. The Red Raiders took their first lead since midway through the first half when Evans pushed tempo off a rebound to a wide open Culver for a breakaway one-handed jam.

An Evans three-pointer on the next possession gave Texas Tech a 62-60 edge with 3:52 remaining and the lead for good. Evans connected with Culver for another trey on the left wing to extend the advantage to five points at the 2:30 mark.

The Red Raiders salted the game away and buried 10-of-12 free throws to close the game. Evans provided seven of the 10 free throws down the stretch.

Texas Tech controlled tempo early and fired out to a 12-6 advantage in the game's first five minutes. Evans, Culver and Tommy Hamilton IV each dialed up three-balls early.

Ahead 18-17 at the 9:58 mark, the Red Raiders would hit on only one of their last 12 field goal attempts to close the stanza. Oklahoma State took advantage and built a 37-25 edge going into the locker room.

"I think when you are struggling, you have to find a way to stay in the game," Beard said. "If we were down 20 at the half, this win doesn't happen. Even though we we weren't playing our greatest, we were trying to find a way to keep it around 10 points and give us a chance. We're all going to remember the second half plays, but it's a lot of big plays in the first half that set the tone. Whether it be Tommy Hamilton's three or Justin Gray's drive or Culver really helping us stay in the game in the first half. It's a 40-minute game, each possession has a life of its own. For fans and for coaches, you may ask which is more important whether it's the last two minutes or the first two minutes. I would say it's all about equal. In our program, we value good basketball in the beginning and end. I would agree with you that Culver played two great halves of basketball."

UP NEXT
Texas Tech steps out of conference play and travels to South Carolina for the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Saturday's tip time is slated for 11 a.m. CT from Colonial Life Arena. The game will be televised by ESPN2 and the 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 by liking TexasTechMBB on Facebook along with following @TexasTechMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.