RECAP: Tech falls to Friars in Big 12-BIG EAST Battle

Wednesday, December 1

Providence, Rhode Island

7:30 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

6-1,0-0Big 12

Providence College

7-1,0-0Big East

Texas Tech

Providence

RECAP: Tech falls to Friars in Big 12-BIG EAST Battle

December 01, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights Press Conference

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island – Texas Tech took its first loss of the season with a 72-68 defeat against Providence College in a Big 12-BIG EAST Battle matchup on Wednesday at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.

The Red Raiders (6-1) led by as many as 14 in the first half and took a 30-28 lead into the break but were unable to hang on as the Friars (7-1) sealed their win with three free throws in the final 11 seconds after Terrence Shannon, Jr. had made it to a one-point game with a 3-pointer in the final minute. PC finished the game shooting 28 of 38 from the free-throw line while Tech was 17 of 24 and 10 of 15 in the second half.

"We had the momentum going and our guys were responding early with a great game plan," Texas Tech head coach Mark Adams said. "I thought we were the most aggressive team. We got in foul trouble and I thought we lost some of our intensity. They did a great job of changing defenses to a zone and took the momentum from us. We didn't handle their zone and then they killed us on the boards early offensively. Our defense was really good, we just couldn't score."

Texas Tech will now play No. 13 Tennessee next week in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday, Dec. 7 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Red Raiders are 1-0 all-time against the Volunteers with an 88-71 win on Dec. 3, 1953 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN.

Shannon led Tech with 17 points in the game, while Kevin Obanor had 12 and Kevin McCullar added 10 in the team's first true road game which saw 10,022 fans in attendance. PC improved to 2-0 all-time against the Red Raiders who are now 0-2 all-time in the Big 12-BIG EAST Battle after also falling at DePaul in 2019 in overtime. Tech went on a 12-0 run and led 27-13 in the first half for its largest lead of the game, while the Friars led by eight with 12 minutes remaining in the game. There were 10 lead changes and nine ties in the game for the Red Raiders who came into the game with a 31.0 scoring margin advantage through six games after a 56-point win win over Omaha and a 32-point victory over Lamar in its most recent games.

Adonis Arms led Tech with seven rebounds and also had six points in the game, while McCullar and Wilson each had two steals in a game where the Red Raiders forced 16 turnovers. Davion Warren finished with eight points and Bryson Williams was limited to four points and two rebounds from the starting lineup. Shannon scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half after getting in early foul trouble in the first half. He finished the game shooting 6-for-11 from the field and was 2 of 7 on 3-pointers and is now leading the Red Raiders with 16.5 points per game this season. McCullar and Bryson Williams both fouled out in the game, while Shannon, Davion Warren and Santos-Silva each had four fouls.

"It was challenging," Adams said. "We have a lot of depth, but when Kevin and Terrence got into foul trouble it hurt the flow of the game for us. It was like musical chairs for us bringing guys in and out throughout the game."

Tech finished the game shooting 37.9 percent from the field and were 7-for-23 on 3-pointers with Shannon and Obanor hitting two each, while the Friars won the game despite being limited to only 37.3 percent shooting and going 6-for-20 on 3-pointers. The Red Raiders finished the game with a 37-35 rebounding advantage but also committed 18 turnovers which turned into 25 points for the Friars. Both teams had 17 offensive rebounds.

Aijami Durham led Providence with 23 points after going 12 of 13 from the free-throw line and A.J. Reeves had 14 points off the bench by going 3-for-7 on 3-pointers. Ed Croswell added 11 as a reserve for the Friars who were only 19-for-51 from the field but scored 28 at the line. PC improved to 5-0 at home with the win.

KEY MOMENTS
Second Half

Providence took a 31-30 lead on its first possession of the second half before Shannon responded with a 3-pointer of his own for a 33-31 lead for the Red Raiders
Providence responded with a 7-0 run to take a 38-33 lead going into the first media timeout of the second half… Tech had started the second half by shooting 1-for-8 from the field at the timeout
A 9-0 run by the Friars ended with a Shannon runner just outside the lane with 14:30 to play and Tech down 40-35
Shannon went to 11 points with a layup that cut Tech's deficit to 47-41 with 11:41 to play… He had seven of Tech's first 11 points of the second half
Warren slashed to the basket and made a layup to cut it to a three-point game and then hit a pair of free throws after getting fouled on a fastbreak… Tech trailed 49-48 with 9:05 to play after Warren's four points
Tech took a 53-51 lead after an Obanor 3-pointer off an assist from Warren and then a fastbreak dunk by Wilson (7:40)… The Red Raiders were on a 7-2 run to regain the lead
PC tied the game at 56 on a 3-pointer after Williams had given Tech a 56-53 lead with a layup… McCullar pushed Tech's lead to 57-56 by hitting the second of two free throws with 5:14 remaining
Shannon tied the game at 61-all with 3:55 remaining by hitting three free throws after being fouled attempting a long-range 3-pointer
Obanor made it 65-all with two minutes to play with an inside shot off an assist from McCullar… PC responded on the other end with Durham hitting a jumper
Shannon drilled a 3-pointer to cut Tech's deficit to 69-68 with 59 seconds on the clock… It was his second 3-pointer of the game and gave him 17 points
PC closed the game with three free throws in the final 11 seconds to seal the win

First Half

Providence won the tipoff and scored on its first possession with a free throw from Horchler
Obanor scored on Tech's first possession on a layup to give Tech a 2-1 lead
Tech led 11-5 after a McCullar 3-pointer and a Shannon layup going into the first media timeout of the first half… Arms hit a runner for a 15-9 advantage with 12:45 on the clock to maintain a six-point lead
Tech led 15-13 at the second media timeout after a 4-0 run by PC going into the timeout before Arms hit a 3-pointer coming out of the timeout for an 18-13 lead… Warren hit another 3-pointer on the next trip down the court to push the lead to 21-13 with 10 minutes remaining
Wilson gave Tech its first double-digit lead at 23-13 with a pair of free throws with 9:41 on the clock
Tech was on a 12-0 run led 27-13 going into the under-8 timeout a pair of Williams free throws and then a jumper from Obanor (8:17)… PC ended the run with a Croswell layup to make it 27-15 (7:01) and went on a 8-0 run of its own before a Nadolny free throw (4:07)
Batcho would give Tech a 30-24 lead (1:33) with a putback off a McCullar miss for the Red Raiders first basket since the Obanor shot that capped the 12-0 run

HALFTIME REPORT: McCullar led Tech with seven points and four rebounds at the half where the Red Raiders owned a 30-28 advantage. Tech led by as many as 14 in the first half at the 8:17 mark of the first half with the team on a 12-0 run. Arms added five points and three rebounds, while Obanor and Shannon had four points. Shannon had three early fouls and played only 5:44 in the opening half. The Red Raiders had a 23-20 rebounding advantage in the first half with Obanor and Shannon having two offensive rebounds each. Croswell led Providence with nine points by shooting 4-for-4 from the field and Reeves had seven points with a 3-pointer. The Friars were only 2-for-13 on 3-pointers at the half while Tech was 3-for-11 from beyond the arc with Arms, McCullar and Warren hitting one each. Overall, Tech was shooting 34.5 percent from the field (10-for-29) and the Friars were at 26.7 percent (8-for-30).

LOOKING AHEAD: Tech is returning to Madison Square Garden to play in the Jimmy V Classic after it topped No. 1 Louisville in the 2019 Jimmy V Classic for its first-ever win over a top-ranked team. The next home game for the Red Raiders is scheduled for Dec. 14 against Arkansas State at the United Supermarkets Arena before a trip to Arizona for a matchup against No. 3 Gonzaga on Dec. 18 in Phoenix.