RECAP: No. 23 Red Raiders 77, Kansas State 63

Tuesday, January 14

Manhattan, Kansas

7 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

11-5,2-2Big 12

Kansas State

7-9,0-4Big 12

Texas Tech

Kansas St.

RECAP: No. 23 Red Raiders 77, Kansas State 63

January 14, 2020 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Press Conference Box Score HIGHLIGHTS

MANHATTAN, Kansas – Kyler Edwards scored a career-high 24 points and Chris Clarke added eight points, eight rebounds and four assists to help lead No. 23 Texas Tech to a 77-63 over Kansas State on Tuesday at the Bramlage Coliseum.

The Red Raiders (11-5, 2-2 Big 12) snapped a two-game losing streak by shooting 47.2 percent from the field and owned a 31-23 rebounding advantage against the Wildcats (7-9, 0-4 Big 12). Tech led 37-30 at halftime and is now 8-1 when leading at the break and improved to 1-2 in road games.

"These Big 12 games are hard to win, especially on the road," Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. "We're really pleased we were able to get a win tonight. At the top of the list of reasons why is that we have so much respect for Coach Weber and this program. Big 12 championship, Elite 8 the last couple of years. Thought our guys played really hard tonight. Obviously, played much better statistically in the second half, but I thought both halves we played about as hard as we could in spurts of the game."

Edwards, who had a previous career-high of 20 against CSU Bakersfield, finished the game 9-for-14 from the field with three 3-pointers. A sophomore from Arlington who was averaging 10.5 points per game coming into the night, was also 3-for-3 at the free-throw line. Davide Moretti also hit three 3-pointers and finished the game with 14 points, while Jahmi'us Ramsey and Kevin McCullar added 10 each.

Up seven at halftime, KSU cut it to two with a 4-0 run to start the second half followed by a Tech 6-2 run that started with two straight Ramsey baskets and then a Holyfield layup. The second half would prove to be a series of runs with the Wildcats taking their first lead of the game at 46-45 on a Cartier Diarra layup that took a run to 9-0. That stretch was stopped by a Clarke basket and the Red Raiders wouldn't give the lead back the rest of the game.

McCullar, who played 16:32 off the bench, gave the Red Raiders a 57-50 lead with a basket that was followed by two straight from Edwards who pushed Tech's advantage to 61-50 with seven minutes remaining. McCullar finished the game shooting 3-for-6 from the field while TJ Holyfield finished with six points and five rebounds from the starting lineup. Clarke was 2-for-4 from the field and 4 of 4 at the line for his eight points, while Moretti shot 5 of 6 from the free-throw line that makes him 52 of 57 (91.2 percent) for the season.

"I just wanted to come in and contribute and do my role," McCullar said. "Play hard, make plays on the defensive end and let the offense come to me."

Diarra led KSU with 19 points on seven shots, while Montavious Murphy finished with 11 points and six rebounds. The Wildcats shot 47.2 percent from the field, but committed 20 turnovers against the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech led 37-30 at halftime over the Wildcats with Edwards at 13 points and Moretti scoring nine. The Red Raiders led by as many as 15 in the opening half after starting the half on a 10-0 with Edwards hitting a 3-pointer, three free throws and Moretti making a four-point play. Tech led 32-17 for its largest lead of the half before KSU went on an 11-0 run that was capped by a Sneed 3-pointer and ended with Moretti hitting his second of the half to give the Red Raiders a 35-28 advantage. Tech, which owned a 15-6 rebounding advantage, finished the first half shooting 47.8 percent from the field, 5 of 9 on 3-pointers and was 10 of 12 from the free-throw line but also had 12 turnovers. The Wildcats, who were led by 10 points from Diarra, shot 47.1 percent from the field with three 3-pointers and were 11-for-16 at the free-throw line.

The Red Raiders will return to action at 3 p.m. on Saturday when they host Iowa State at the United Supermarkets Arena. Tech is currently 8-1 all-time at the USA this season and is 15-20 all-time against the Cyclones after the two teams split last year's series with the away team winning. Iowa State (8-7, 1-2 Big 12) plays at No. 2 Baylor at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in Waco before traveling to Lubbock this weekend.

In this league, you earn your wins on the road.

The 18-round fight moves back to our place Saturday.

??#4To1 | #WreckEm?? pic.twitter.com/w6s8UaG9ql
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) January 15, 2020