RECAP: No. 18 Tech knocks off WVU by 13

Saturday, January 22

Lubbock, Texas

11 a.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

(RV) West Virginia

RECAP: No. 18 Tech knocks off WVU by 13

January 22, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Press Conference Highlights

By: Wes Bloomquist

LUBBOCK, Texas – Terrence Shannon, Jr. scored a season-high 23 points and Kevin Obanor added 18 more as No. 18 Texas Tech pulled away in the second half for a 78-65 win over West Virginia on Saturday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders (15-4, 5-2 Big 12) improved to 12-0 at home this season and snapped a two-game losing streak to the Mountaineers (13-5, 2-4 Big 12) by outscoring them 42-31 in the second half and 30-16 in the paint. Tech, which is 4-0 at home in Big 12 play with wins over Kansas, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and now WVU, earned its 13-point win after owning a 36-34 lead at halftime.

"Any time you play a team coached by Bob Huggins you know you're in for a fight," said Texas Tech head coach Mark Adams who saw his team own a 39-29 rebounding advantage and commit only nine turnovers. "We called it a war and told our guys to be ready for a war in the paint. They are just a tough and resilient team that is always in a game. They just keep fighting and we knew we would have to also. We won the game, but we are tired and just glad we got through it. It was a big win for us."

Texas Tech returns to action against No. 7 Kansas in an ESPN Big Monday matchup at the Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. The Red Raiders earned a 75-67 in the first matchup over the Jayhawks on Jan. 8 in Lubbock.

Shannon went for high season-high of 23 points by shooting 7-for-12 from the field with three 3-pointers and going 6 of 7 from the free-throw line. He had missed seven games with injury before returning to play against Kansas State and Iowa State, scoring two points at KSU and four in the win over ISU before going off for his 23 on Saturday against WVU with 13 points coming in the second half.

"It felt good," Shannon said. "I won't say I'm all the way back. I'm still finding my rhythm. I feel like I did a better job at this game. Someone said West Virginia was tough, and they were. I feel like we did a good job responding in the second half and we pulled out the win."

Obanor continued his strong play in Big 12 play by scoring eight of his 18 points in the second half and also adding four rebounds. He was coming off scoring 15 points in the win over Iowa State and also had 17 against Oklahoma State. His 18 points are a new Big 12 high for him and came with him going 6 of 12 from the field and 6-for-6 at the free-throw line.
Bryson Williams gave Tech three players in double figures in the game with 13 points, while Davion Warren and Kevin McCullar scored seven points each from the starting lineup. McCullar had his eighth game of the season with four or more assists by leading the team with four to go along with having five rebounds. Shannon also had five rebounds, while Adonis Arms and Warren led the team with six rebounds each. Marcus Santos-Silva had two blocks for the third time this season and also added four points and two rebounds to lead the reserves.

Shannon was just one point from matching his career-high of 24 that he had as a freshman at DePaul. He has now scored in double figures in six of nine games this season and 42 in his career. Shannon now leads Tech by scoring 12.8 points per game with Williams at 12.6 ppg. with seven straight games in double figures after also scoring 16 points in the midweek win over Iowa State.

The Red Raiders finished the game shooting 40.7 percent from the field despite going just 5-for-20 on 3-pointers with three from Shannon and two from Williams. TTU had a 17-8 advantage in offensive rebounds against WVU with Obanor, McCullar and Warren having three each. Defensively, Tech also limited WVU to 40.4 percent shooting and 5-for-15 on 3-pointers. Taz Sherman led the Mountaineers with 21 points but committed six of the team's 17 turnovers. Malik Curry added 11 and Jalen Bridges scored eight in the loss.

The Red Raiders took a 36-34 lead into halftime with Obanor and Shannon leading the way with 10 points each while Williams added eight. Tech finished the first half showing 44.0 percent from the field and were just 2 of 8 on 3-pointers and 12-for-18 at the free-throw line. WVU was also limited to just 2 of 8 on 3-pointers and was shooting 44.4 percent from the field led by Sherman who had a half-high 13 points for the Mountaineers. TTU, which led by eight with 2:42 to play in the half after a pair of Shannon free throws, had a 16-6 scoring advantage in the paint after 20 minutes and had only six turnovers going into the second half.

KEY MOMENTS
Second Half

Warren scored Tech's first points of the second half with a steal and fastbreak layup for a 38-34 lead
Tech took a 42-36 lead with Warren hitting a jumper four minutes into the second half… Held to two points in the first half, Warren scored four of Tech's first six points to begin the second half
Obanor gave Tech a 46-40 lead with a tough inside shot with 13:45 on the clock… Obanor had 16 points after the basket
WVU went on a 5-0 run to make it 46-45 until Batcho banked it in from the free throw line to give Tech the 48-45 lead… A 3-pointer by Johnson tied the game at 48 with 9:41 remaining
Tech responded with a 5-0 run of its own with Santos-Silva hitting free throws tom make it a 53-48 lead with eight minutes to play… WVU stopped the run with a Sherman basket (6:55) and free throw
WVU took a 54-53 lead on a Sherman 3-pointer (6:21) before a Shannon layup and free throw gave Tech a 56-54 lead with six to play
Tech took a 59-54 lead with a 6-0 run before Carrigan stopped the run and made it a three-point game… Shannon responded on the other end, hitting his second 3-pointer and giving Tech a 62-56 lead with 4:01 on the clock
Shannon hit his second straight 3-pointer and third of the game to give Tech a 65-56 lead with 3:16 remaining… WVU would hit two free throws on the other end from McNeil to make it a seven-point game with three minutes remaining
McCullar pushed Tech's lead to 72-64 with a pair of free throws with 1:29 to play before having a steal on the defensive end that led to a Shannon dunk and 10-point lead

First Half

WVU won the tip but did not score on its opening possession… The Mountaineers took a 3-0 lead with Bridges hitting a 3-pointer on their second trip down
Warren scored Tech's first basket with a layup (17:21) to cut WVU's lead to 5-3… Williams had hit a free throw for the first point of the game
Arms tied the game at 7-7 with a fastbreak layup off an assist from Nadolny with 15:39 on the clock
Shannon gave Tech a 14-9 lead with a 3-pointer and then a layup with 13:22 as part of a 7-0 run that started with a pair of Obanor free throws
Tech led 17-16 with Shannon hitting a midrange jumper with nine minutes until halftime… Shannon had eight points after the shot and was 3 of 4 from the field
Obanor gave Tech a 26-21 lead and 7-0 run with 4:35 on the clock… The basket gave Obanor 10 points to be the first Red Raider to reach double figures in the game
Williams hit a pair of free throws to give Tech a 36-34 lead with a minute until halftime after WVU had tied the game at 34-all… The Mountaineers had their final possession of the first half but would not score with Williams blocking a shot