Red Raider Recap: Tech 70, Stephen F. Austin 60

Thursday, March 15

Dallas, Texas

6:27 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

Stephen F. Austin

Red Raider Recap: Tech 70, Stephen F. Austin 60

March 15, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights Coach Beard Press Conference Keenan Evans, Zhaire Smith, Niem Stevenson Press Conference Photo Gallery Postgame Quotes NCAA Bracket Follow @TexasTechMBB on Twitter Follow TexasTechMBB on Instagram

Evans scored a game-high 23 points Thursday to lead the Red Raiders to the NCAA Round of 32.

By: Texas Tech Athletics Communications

DALLAS, Texas – The No. 14 Texas Tech men's basketball team has done it all season long as the Red Raiders used a total team effort and did the little things in the big moments en route to a 70-60 comeback win over Stephen F. Austin during Thursday's NCAA Tournament First Round in-front of a capacity crowd at the American Airlines Center.

Texas Tech (25-9) will take on No. 23 Florida, a 77-62 winner over St. Bonaventure, in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 on Saturday. Tip time is set for approximately 7:40 p.m. CT televised by TNT along with being available online on the NCAA March Madness app.

The Red Raiders took the lead for good turning defense into offense after facing an eight-point deficit early in the second half. A Niem Stevenson steal resulted a Keenan Evans transition layup to give Texas Tech a 59-58 advantage with 3:59 left.

Then, Justin Gray threaded the needle with a textbook bounce pass to wide open Zhaire Smith for a slam dunk to push the lead to 61-58 with 3:16 to go.

The Red Raiders got another big defensive stop when Stevenson took a charge. On the ensuing possession, he found Brandone Francis a three-pointer on the baseline to extend the Texas Tech lead to 64-58 with 2:33 remaining.

Ahead 66-60 at the 1:04 mark, Evans used his craftiness to split a double team and got all the way to the rim for a driving layup. The Red Raiders knocked down all four of their free throws inside the final 43 seconds to close out the 10-point win.

First of all, I just want to congratulate Stephen F. Austin for a great season," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "They were everything we thought they would be and more. Kyle Keller is a great coach. They've got good players. They've got a program is what they have. You go back to Danny Kaspar and certainly Brad Underwood, and now Kyle has taken it to another level. They just forced us into so many things and took away things, but I just wanted to congratulate them on a good season. I know Kyle is just getting started building the program there. For our guys, we knew we were going to have to play great to win this game because we knew how good Stephen F. Austin was. I'm really pleased for our players that we advanced to the second round, beating a team that we had nothing but respect for."

Evans poured in 19 of his game-leading 23 points headed by a flawless 6-for-6 shooting effort from the field and a 6-for-6 mark at the free throw line. Texas Tech has won 12 of its 13 games this season and improved to 18-4 when Evans tallies 20 or more points. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists in his 35 minutes of action.

The 23 points by Evans are the most for a Texas Tech player since Ronald Ross dropped in 24 points versus Gonzaga in the 2005 NCAA Second Round. He became the 16th player in program history to eclipse 1,500 career points. The Richardson native has 1,521 points and is five points away from passing Rayford Young (1997-98-99-2000) for 15th place on the program's all-time list.

Zhaire Smith tacked on 10 points, eight rebounds and two assists. He has reached double figures in 10 of his last 13 outings. The eight rebounds tied a season's best for the freshman.

Zach Smith provided a solid all-around effort with nine points, four rebounds and three blocks to spark the Texas Tech bench. The nine points enabled Smith to surpass Kasib Powell (2002-03) and Jordan Tolbert (2012-13-14) whereas the three blocks moved the Plano native to within eight blocks of Tony Battie's (1995-96-97) program record.

Stevenson added six points, four rebounds and three assists followed by Francis and Davide Moretti who picked up five points apiece. Gray came away with four points, seven rebounds and two steals.

As a team, Texas Tech registered a 25-of-54 shooting performance highlighted by a 15-of-25 clip in the second half. The Red Raiders connected on 4-of-16 from three-point territory and 16-of-24 on free throws.

Texas Tech worked its way to a 41-31 rebounding advantage. The 41 rebounds are the second-most in program history during a NCAA Tournament game. The Red Raiders also controlled the interior courtesy of a 36-20 edge in paint points.

The Lumberjacks (28-7) managed an 18-for-49 clip from the field, a 5-for-14 mark on three-pointers and a 19-for-28 effort at the free throw line. Four SFA players found their way to double figures led by Ivan Canete's 17 points and four steals. Shannon Bogues garnered 14 points followed by Kevon Harris' 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists.

The Lumberjacks held the lead for a majority of the first half. The lone exceptions were on a highlight reel reverse 360 dunk by Zhaire Smith from Evans to make the score 16-15 with 8:55 left. Texas Tech also took a 27-25 lead inside the final minute on a pair of Evans free throws.

SFA rattled off the last five points of the stanza to snatch a 30-27 lead going into the locker room. The Lumberjacks broke a 27-27 deadlock on a Harris triple to beat the first half buzzer.

SFA kept the momentum on its side with nine of the first 13 points of the second half to build a 39-31 edge after a Ty Charles triple with 17:47 on the clock.

Down 51-44 with 10:23 to go, the Red Raiders began to make their move. Texas Tech dialed up a 9-2 spurt to knot the score at 53-53 with 7:39 left.

Evans kickstarted the run with two free throws and connected with Zach Smith for a layup. Evans cleaned the offensive glass with a putback, and the Red Raiders got three more free throws to tie the score.

Texas Tech closed the game on a 15-3 run over the last 5:23 off the clock and forced the Lumberjacks to misfire on their last six shot attempts.
"I was really proud of that ending," Beard said. "That's something we've been working on for two years. Finish was our motto. Last year when our season ended sooner than any of us would have wanted, we regrouped. We decided that the thing has got to be finished because we were so close last year. So finishing doesn't just mean close games. It means finishing the semester academically or finishing in the weight room your last couple reps or finishing individual workouts, basically just a mindset to finish."

UP NEXT
The Red Raiders will face off with No. 23 Florida during Saturday's NCAA Tournament Round of 32. Tip time is scheduled for approximately 7:40 p.m. CT televised by TNT and carried by the NCAA March Madness 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.

TEXAS TECH POSTGAME NOTES

With the win, Texas Tech earned its first NCAA Championship victory since the Red Raiders' 2005 run to the Sweet 16. Tech defeated both UCLA and Gonzaga that season.
With the win, Texas Tech is now 9-16 all-time in NCAA Championship games.
With the win, Texas Tech is now 9-5 all-time against Stephen F. Austin as the Red Raiders have won eight-straight games in the series dating back to 1999.
Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard now has a 2-1 career record in NCAA Championship games. He previously guided No. 12 seed Arkansas-Little Rock to the round of 32 in 2016. This was his first NCAA Championship game as Texas Tech's head coach.
Texas Tech's 70 points marked its ninth-highest total in a NCAA Championship game in school history. It marked the most points for the Red Raiders in the tournament since the Red Raiders fell to Boston College, 84-75, in the 2007 opener.
Keenan Evans scored 20 or more points for the 13th time already this season and the 22nd time in his career. He has now scored at least 20 points in three of Texas Tech's last four games.
Texas Tech is now 12-1 this season when Keenan Evans scores 20 or more points. The Red Raiders have won each of their last 10 games where Evans scores at least 20 points dating back to the Dec. 5 victory over Nevada.
Keenan Evans' 23 points marked the 18th time in school history where a Red Raider had scored 20 or more points in a NCAA Championship game. It marked the most points for a Red Raider in the tournament since 2005 when Ronald Ross poured in 24 points in a second-round victory over Gonzaga.
Keenan Evans scored 10 of his 23 points at the free-throw line, marking the third-most successful free throws in a NCAA Championship game all-time by a Red Raider. He trails only the 12 free throws made by both Del Ray Mounts against Creighton in 1962 and Ned Underwood versus SMU in 1956.
Zhaire Smith was the only other Red Raider in double figures as he scored 10 points in the win. It marked the 25th time this season where Smith has finished in double figures and the 10th time in the last 12 games.
In addition to his highlight-worthy dunk, Zhaire Smith also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, matching his career high from earlier this year. He previously notched eight rebounds against both Iowa State (Feb. 7) and West Virginia (Jan 13).

Are you kidding us, Zhaire? How's the air up there? #WreckEm #4To1 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/IUYpHmxfBn
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) March 15, 2018