RECAP: Red Raiders overpower No. 6 Longhorns

Monday, February 13

Lubbock, Texas

8 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

14-12,3-10Big 12

No. 6 Texas

20-6,9-4Big 12

Texas

Texas Tech

RECAP: Red Raiders overpower No. 6 Longhorns

February 13, 2023 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights Press Conference

By: Wes Bloomquist

LUBBOCK, Texas – De'Vion Harmon scored a career-high 25 points and Kevin Obanor added 19 points and seven rebounds to help lead Texas Tech to a 74-67 win over No. 6 Texas on Monday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders (14-12, 3-10 Big 12) have now won three straight home games over ranked conference opponents and three straight over the Longhorns (20-6, 9-4 Big 12) in games played in Lubbock – along with winning 8 of the last 10 over UT at home. Tech evened the season series with UT after a 72-70 loss on January 14 in Austin where it led by nine at halftime. On Monday, Tech led 44-35 for another nine-point halftime lead but this time fought off a comeback to secure the win.

"A lot of teams get in this situation, get down, and get in a hole and it's hard to get out of that," said Texas Tech coach Mark Adams who is now 30-4 at home leading the program. "But these guys believe in themselves. There's a saying, with excellence comes great adversity. We've had a lot of adversity and not to say we're excellent yet but we're showing that path we're chasing greatness and we want to keep improving."

The Red Raiders now have 28 wins over Top-10 opponents in program history, including earning one in nine straight seasons. Tech was 0-4 at home to start Big 12 play, but have now run off three straight wins over No. 13 Iowa State, No. 12 Kansas State and No. 6 Texas.

Harmon scored 21 of his 25 points in the first half to lead the Red Raiders, while Fardaws Aimaq had 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Obanor finished the game 5-for-10 from the field, hit two 3-pointers and went 7-for-7 at the free-throw line. Texas had tied the game at 64-64 with 4:16 remaining before an Obanor dunk off an assist from Aimaq sparked a 6-0 run that was capped by another Obanor dunk. Tech led 70-67 with 1:03 remaining before Harmon drove in for a layup to push the lead to five and Obanor made two free throws with 18 seconds on the clock to seal the win.

"We're a team that fights," Obanor said. "Coach will use the analogy of it like a boxing match, 18 rounds and you get beat seven, eight times. It speaks more to the character, and to the people that we are to get back up. I guarantee you that a lot of teams would have folded, they would have cared about stats, worry about going to the next level, they would have quit. To have that sense of urgency, that mindset, just to keep going and not give up."

Tech finished the game shooting 13-for-14 at the free-throw line and owned a 41-29 rebounding advantage. Along with seven 3-pointers, the Red Raiders dominated inside with a 36-18 scoring advantage in the paint. Jaylon Tyson and D'Maurian Williams added five points each, while Lamar Washington provided three assists. Tyson also provided six rebounds and freshman Elijah Fisher battled for five rebounds and scored four points.

"Nothing is sweeter than getting hit and bouncing back," Adams told the team in the locker room after the game. "Comebacks are awesome. You guys are on the way back. This could be a great story. You guys stuck together."

Harmon, who had scored 23 points three times in his career, finished the game shooting 9-for-17 from the field, 3-for-4 on 3-pointers and 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. A buzzer-beater to end halftime gave him 21 through 20 minutes and sent Tech to the locker room up nine.

"We just kept fighting," Harmon told ESPN's Kris Budden on the court after the game. "All the people that counted us out. We played hard for this great university, that's what it's all about. I'm so proud of my guys. We gave it everything that we had and came out victorious."

Marcus Carr led Texas with 23 points and six assists, while Dylan Disu had 11 as the only two Longhorns in double figures. UT shot 23-for-59 from the field, went 11-for-27 on 3-pointers and were 10-of-17 on free throws. Texas had only six turnovers in the game, but couldn't overcome the 12-rebound advantage Tech had over them.

Tech took a 44-35 lead into halftime with Harmon draining a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give him 21 points at the break. Harmon was 3-for-3 on 3-pointers in the half with Tech going 7-for-12 from beyond the arc, including Obanor hitting two and going into the break with 11 points and five rebounds. Tech owned a 20-11 rebounding advantage and a 14-8 scoring margin in the paint. Williams had five points with one 3-pointer while Jennings had the other. Tech was 14-for-30 (46.7 percent) from the field. Texas was 13-for-29 (44.8 percent). Carr led UT with 11 points at the break, while Rice had eight off the bench for the Longhorns. UT was 6-for-11 on 3-pointers.

Tech is now 11-4 at home this season and improved to 37-29 all-time over Texas on its home court. The Red Raiders have now won two straight Big 12 games for the first time this season.

UP NEXT: Tech now faces two-game road trip where they take on West Virginia on Saturday in Morgantown before playing at Oklahoma next Tuesday in Norman.

GAME TRACKER & NOTES

Tech won the tip and scored on its opening possession on two free throws by Obanor after three offensive rebounds… UT had a turnover on its opening trip down the court
Obanor gave Tech a 5-0 lead with a 3-pointer on the second trip down, hitting the first 3-pointer of the game off an assist from Aimaq… Harmon made it 7-0 with a runner in the lane on his first shot (17:54) of the game
Disu stopped a 7-0 run by Tech with a 3-pointer to make it a 7-3 game… Tech and UT both hit their first 3-pointers of the game… It was 7-6 going into the first media timeout of the game with Tech shooting 2-for-9 from the field and UT at 2-for-5
UT took its first lead of the game at 8-7 with a Cunningham inside shot and were on a 10-0 after a layup by Hunter
Williams stopped the run with a jumper to cut UT's lead to 10-9 (13:29)…. UT responded with a jumper by Rice and would take a 15-11 lead on a Cunningham 3-pointer
Harmon hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Tech a 17-15 lead… Harmon started the game 4-for-6 from the field and 2-for-2 on 3-pointers – scoring 10 of Tech's opening 19 points
Aimaq scored his first points of the night with a hook shot in the lane, tying the game at 21-21 with 7:52 to play until halftime
Obanor would draw a foul on a 3-point attempt, make all three and give Tech a 26-25 lead with 5:16 on the clock… Obanor stayed at it, hitting a 3-pointer for a 29-28 lead before a Harmon jumper make it 31-28 (3:04)
Tech was 5-for-10 on 3-pointers on a Williams 3 that pushed the lead to 34-30 (2:39) before a Jennings 3-pointer made it 37-32 (1:48)…. Both teams started the game 6-for-11 from beyond the arc
Harmon hit a 3-point buzzer beater for a 44-35 lead… He had 21 points with the seventh Red Raider 3-pointer of the first half
Tech took its first double-digit lead of the game on a three-point play from Tyson coming out of halftime with a layup and free throw… It was his first points of the game
Fisher gave Tech a 53-40 lead with his second basket of the game, backing down Cunningham in the lane for a tough inside shot
Aimaq threw down his first dunk of the season for a 57-46 lead off a Washington assists… He had six points and four rebounds at that point in the game
UT cut it to 59-54 (11:49) with a Carr 3-pointer and a Morris dunk to force a Tech timeout… The Longhorns had hit five straight shots to cut a 13-point deficit to five going into the under-12 media timeout
Harmon matched his career-high with a layup in the halfcourt to give Tech a 61-54 lead (10:25)… Tech still led 62-55 going into the under-8 media timeout (7:50) with UT not having a field goal in four minutes going into the timeout
Disu tied the game at 64-64 with 4:16 remaining with a 3-pointer before an Obanor dunk gave Tech a two-point lead again…Obanor had 15 points after the dunk that was assisted by Aimaq… An Aimaq putback gave Tech a 68-64 lead (3:02) before he lobbed a pass to Obanor for a dunk to extend a 6-0 run going into a timeout with 2:26 to play
Harmon drove to the lane for a 72-67 lead and giving him a career-high 25 points