RECAP: Red Raiders advance to Sweet 16

Sunday, March 20

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6:10 p.m.

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Texas Tech

RECAP: Red Raiders advance to Sweet 16

March 20, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Press Conference Box Score (PDF)NCAA Bracket Highlights Quotes

By: Wes Bloomquist

SAN DIEGO – Texas Tech is heading back to the Sweet 16 for the third time in four NCAA Tournaments after earning a 59-53 win over 11th-seeded Notre Dame by going on a 10-1 run to end the game on Sunday at Viejas Arena. The No. 3 Red Raiders (27-9) will now take on second-seeded Duke on Thursday in the NCAA Tournament West Region semifinals at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

"I'm incredibly happy for these guys up here, for our basketball team to stay alive and keep moving forward and play another game," Texas Tech coach Mark Adams said. "I certainly feel for Notre Dame. They played so hard and played good enough to win. We just made a lot of great plays down the stretch. Couldn't be more happy for these guys up here and our team."

Kevin Obanor led the Red Raiders by recording a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds, while Bryson Williams and Kevin McCullar both scored 14 points in a game where they led 26-25 but trailed with two minutes to play. Obanor's 15 rebounds set a new program record for rebounds in a game and he has now recorded a double-double in five straight NCAA Tournament games after also having 10 points and 13 rebounds in the win over Montana State on Thursday and three last season while at Oral Roberts.

"We have the mindset of not going home," Obanor said. "All praise to the Lord. We just love each other. And this is what March is all about. And the game is not over even when we were down. We just have that mindset of just chipping it away, one possession at a time."

Down 52-49 with 1:56 to play, Adonis Arms hit a pair of free throws to start the run that was followed by two more free throws from Obanor at the 1:10 mark to take a 53-52 lead. Marcus Santos-Silva continued the streak with two more free throws, shot right-handed after switching his shot last month, and McCullar threw down a dunk with 15 seconds remaining to push the lead to 59-52.

"We made some big time plays on the defensive end," McCullar said. "It was just our will, we didn't want to send the seniors home yet. We want to keep playing basketball as long as we can and try to make a run at this thing. We're so close and we buckled down."

Free throws down the stretch won the game for the Red Raiders who were 0-for-3 at the line in the first half before going 13-for-14 in the second half to advance. Obanor's 15 rebounds were a season-high and added to Tech's 42-36 advantage in the game. The Red Raiders owned a 24-10 scoring advantage in the paint and finished the game shooting 21-for-59 from the field. Arms had seven rebounds and led Tech with four assists while also scoring five points, while Santos-Silva finished with four points and two blocked shots. Terrence Shannon, Jr. had three points with one 3-pointer to begin the second half and Davion Warren finished with two points and two assists. TTU had 10 assists on 21 made baskets and committed only eight turnovers in the game.

Tech took a 26-25 lead into halftime with Obanor leading the team with 11 points and five rebounds. Williams added six points and Arms had three points for the Red Raiders who owned a 16-4 scoring advantage in the paint but was only 2-for-9 on 3-pointers while the Irish was 5-for-16. TTU had a 22-20 rebounding advantage was 0-for-3 on free throws while Notre Dame was 6-for-6 at the line. Obanor was 5-for-8 form the field with one 3-pointer, while Arms had four rebounds to go along with hitting one 3-pointer. The Irish were only 7-for-28 (25.0 percent) from the field to start the game, led by Wesley who had six points despite going 1-for-9 to start the game. He was 4-for-4 at the free-throw line, while Atkinson had four points and three rebounds. Notre Dame finished the half two for its last 10 from the field but scored at the buzzer on a Wesley layup to make it a one-point game. Both teams had five turnovers after 20 minutes.

"We needed to do whatever it takes for us to win," Obanor said. "Even if it's an ugly win, we'll take it. We're grateful to be advancing to the Sweet 16."

The Red Raiders are now 10-3 over the past four tournaments which is the second most wins nationally. Tech matched the program record for their highest seeding and is back in the Sweet 16 after also advancing to the 2018 Elite 8 and the 2019 NCAA National Championship Final. In the program's 19th NCAA Tournament, Tech is now 19-20 all-time in tournament play and is making its fifth trip to the Sweet 16 (1996, 2005, 2018, 2019).

POINTS OF DISTINCTION

Kevin Obanor records 5th NCAA Tournament double-double in as many games.
Obanor's 15 rebounds ties Norense Odiase for most in a tournament game.
Lowest points scored as a team in an NCAA Tournament win, 59.
Tied for third-fewest points allowed in an NCAA Tournament game, 53.
Second-most rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game, 42.
Tech is now 22-4 when leading at halftime
The 11th time this season we have held an opponent to 25 points or less in the first half. (11-0 in those games).
Third time in the last five games Tech has held the opponent to 25 or less in the first half.
Second straight tournament game Tech has held the opponent to 25 or less in the first half.

KEY MOMENTS

Tech won the tip and scored on its first possession on a Williams layup… Notre Dame scored for the first time on its second trip down with a 3-pointer by Hubb for a 3-2 lead
Williams had four points and McCullar had two going into the first media timeout (15:07)… Tech was shooting 3-for-8 from the field and 0-for-2 on 3-pointers five minutes into the game
Obanor scored his first basket to give Tech an 8-7 lead with 14:38 on the clock off an assist from Arms
Tech took a 13-7 lead after a Santos-Silva layup following an Arms 3-pointer… The six-point was built with a 7-0 run that included Arms hitting the first 3-pointer of the game for Tech after it has started 0-for-3… Notre Dame stopped the run coming out of the under-12 timeout with a Goodwin 3-pointer
The Irish tied the game at 13 with a 3-pointer from Laszewski with 8:33 remaining in the first half… Notre Dame was 3-for-9 on 3-pointers after the shot
Obanor broke a 7-0 run by the Irish with back-to-back buckets for a 17-13 lead... His second layup was off an assist from Warren for Tech's fourth assist of the half
Notre Dame responded and took an 18-17 lead with a pair of Atkinson free throws (5:30)
Obanor continued leading the Red Raiders, hitting a 3-pointer for a 20-18 lead and then a layup to push it to 22-18 with 4:05 to play… Obanor had 11 points and five rebounds after the spurt

Second Half

Williams started second-half scoring for the Red Raiders with a jumper on the first possession for a 28-25 lead
Shannon hit his first shot of the game with a 3-pointer for a 31-27 lead followed by McCullar hitting Tech's first free throws of the game to push the lead to six
Obanor came down with his ninth rebound and then made a layup to give Tech a 37-33 lead before a McCullar steal and dunk for a 39-33 lead… Notre Dame cut it to three with a Goodwin 3-pointer (ND's sixth of the game)
Obanor pulled down his 10th rebound of the game to get to his double-double at the 10:50 mark in the second half… It came off a missed 3-pointer by Wesley and a foul was called on Ryan against Obanor going into the under-12 media timeout
Williams gave Tech a 41-39 lead and had 10 points after a runner in the lane an assist from McCullar with 10:19 on the clock off
Notre Dame took a 44-41 lead with a 3-pointer from Wertz and jumper from Hubb (8:55)… Williams stopped the spurt with a hook shot for Tech to make it a one-point game before McCullar tied it at 44 with a free throw that came after an intentional foul call
McCullar gave Tech a 47-44 lead (7:14) with a 3-pointer that gave him 10 points… Goodwin gave Notre Dame the lead back with a 3-pointer of his own (5:17)
Williams tied the game at 49 with a pair of free throws for Tech before a Wesley jumper for the Irish gave them a two-point lead with 3:09 on the clock and then a 52-49 lead with a free throw
Arms would hit a pair of free throws to cut Notre Dame's lead to 52-51 with 1:56 to play
Obanor ripped down an offensive rebound and was fouled… Hitting both shots to give Tech a 53-52 lead with 1:10 to play