Keenan Evans delivered 21 of his Big 12 career-high 28 points after halftime, but the Texas Tech men’s basketball team was handed an 83-74 double overtime defeat by No. 9 West Virginia Saturday in-front of 14,150 fans at the WVU Coliseum.

The Red Raiders (17-10, 5-9 Big 12) battled back from a six-point hole inside the closing 2:44 of regulation to force the extra sessions. It marked Texas Tech’s first double overtime game since a 90-87 loss to Ole Miss during the quarterfinals of the 2010 NIT.

For Evans, the 28 points tied his overall career-high set versus Houston Baptist during the season opener. He extended his run to 15 consecutive games in double figures fueled by four straight outings with over 20-plus points. He was 9-of-16 from the floor and converted on all eight of his free throw attempts. He tacked on four assists and four rebounds over a career-best 45 minutes of court time.

Niem Stevenson amassed 17 points, six rebounds and two assists. He scored all 17 of his points in the first half and misfired on his last six shot attempts in the second half and the overtimes. Stevenson has provided his top three scoring performances over the last three games along with double figures in six of his last seven outings.

Aaron Ross picked up 10 points and three rebounds whereas Zach Smith came away with eight points, five rebounds and two blocks. Anthony Livingston secured seven points and six rebounds.

“Life on the road in the Big 12 against a Top 10 team,” Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. “We had some guys make some plays. We’re not consistent enough, and we’re not tough enough yet to get these wins. I’m proud of our guys. We’ll stay the course, that’s all we can do.

The Red Raiders were forced into a season-high 20 turnovers, 13 of which came during the second half. Texas Tech was outrebounded by a 43-30 margin which enabled West Virginia (21-6, 9-5 Big 12) to score 18 of the game’s 20 points on second chance opportunities. 

“That’s their identity, Beard said. “For portions of the game, I thought we did a pretty good job of battling. Four or five minutes here or two or three minutes there can really kill you. Our blocking out during the overtimes just wasn’t good enough.”

Texas Tech was 27-of-56 from the field and knocked down 7-of-16 on three-pointers. The Red Raiders sank 13-of-19 at the free throw line. After going 13-of-19 shooting in the second half, Texas Tech was only able to connect on two of its 15 shot attempts during the overtime periods.

The Mountaineers hit on 27-for-65 overall and 5-for-24 from beyond the three-point line. West Virginia compiled a 24-for-31 effort on free throws and made 11 of its 14 attempts during overtime.

Jevon Carter netted a season’s best 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Elijah Macon tacked on a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. The Mountaineers also received double figures courtesy of Tarik Phillip’s 15 points and 11 bench points from Daxter Miles Jr.

Behind 61-55 at the 2:44 mark, Evans brought the Red Raiders back to one possession on back-to-back driving layups to make it 61-59 with 30 seconds left.

Carter split his free throws to bring the score to 62-59. Texas Tech elected to go for two points, and Evans delivered an off-balanced midrange jumper on the left elbow.

Carter made the ensuing two free throws to push the WVU advantage back to 61-61 with 13.4 seconds remaining. Evans continued to have the hot hand and buried the game-tying trey on the left wing with 4.6 seconds to go.

After a WVU timeout, Carter had a runner just inside the three-point line that bounced off the rim to send the contest to overtime at 64-64.

The two teams exchanged the first eight points of overtime, and Ross gave the Red Raiders a 70-68 edge after he drove towards the left baseline and nailed a 10-foot stepback jumper with 1:48 on the clock.

Ahead 70-69, Texas Tech had two chances to extend its lead but were unable to convert. Carter split his free throws with 19.9 seconds to knot the score at 70-70. The Red Raiders had a chance to win, but Evans’ jumper fell short in the closing seconds.

West Virginia started fast in the second overtime session with six quick points capped by second-chance putbacks from Macon and Miles to vault the Mountaineers to a 76-70 advantage at the 2:56 mark.

West Virginia tucked away the nine-point decision on the strength of a 5-of-6 effort on free throws in the closing 52 seconds.

The Red Raiders used a 10-2 spurt to wipe away an early 17-12 deficit with 10:42 left in the first half which West Virginia built following consecutive Carter three-balls 30 seconds apart.

Stevenson and Evans ignited the charge with treys of their own. Then, Smith connected with Evans in stride for layup to give Texas Tech a 20-19 lead at the 8:50 mark. Evans returned the favor to Smith for a layup off a press breaker to give the Red Raiders a three-point advantage. 

Texas Tech carried a 33-31 edge into the locker room. Ross and Carter exchanged three-pointers inside the final minute.

The Red Raiders maintained the lead for the opening five minutes of the second half before the West Virginia pressure forced Texas Tech into six turnovers. The Mountaineers took advantage and surged ahead 56-49 with 8:00 left behind an 18-7 flurry. 

COURTESY OF TEXAS TECH ATHLETICS