Davide Moretti scored a career-high 17 points and Deshawn Corprew added 11 points and eight rebounds to help lead Texas Tech to an 84-52 non-conference win over Mississippi Valley State on Friday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders (2-0) won their 40th straight non-conference home game with the 32-point victory where they limited the Delta Devils (0-2) to 33.3 percent shooting and forced 12 turnovers. Texas Tech has not lost a non-conference home game now since Dec. 30, 2013 and coach Chris Beard is now 21-0 in those games.

Moretti, a sophomore from Italy, would also set a new career-high with five 3-pointers in the game. Moretti led the Red Raiders with 14 points at halftime after going 4-for-5 on 3-pointers. His previous career-best was 14 points last season against Florida Atlantic.

“That’s what Moretti is supposed to do,” Beard said. “He is a good shooter when his teammates get him wide open shots and the offense produces shots. I think he is a 40-45 percent shooter. We are looking for him to get more consistent this year, he helped us out a lot last year as a freshman learning how to play on this level. He dedicated himself this summer to his national team while staying in town with his teammates in Lubbock. He is a guy I pull for.”
Norense Odiase would add a team-high 10 rebounds and also scored eight points, while Jarrett Culver went for 12 points, four assists and four rebounds in the second game of his sophomore season. Odiase, who also led the team with seven rebounds in the opener against Incarnate Word, had four of his rebounds on the offensive side of the court along with two blocked shots. Corprew, a sophomore in his first season at Texas Tech after transferring from South Plains College, scored seven of his 11 points in the second half after scoring seven in the game against UIW.

Texas Tech finished the game with eight 3-pointers and was 32-for-64 (50 percent) from the field. The Red Raiders owned the glass with a 49-25 rebounding advantage, including seven rebounds from Tariq Owens who would also add nine points, two assists and one blocked shot. Matt Mooney led the Red Raiders for the second straight game in assists, finishing with five assists along with scoring eight points and securing five rebounds. Malik Ondigo also had a career night with eight points and five rebounds, while Kyler Edwards went for nine points after opening his freshman season with 10 against UIW.  

Odiase and Owens each had six points each as the Red Raiders took a 43-20 lead at halftime.Odiase led the team with seven rebounds through 20 minutes and also had two blocks, while Mooney went into the break with five assists.

NOTES
Texas Tech has scored on the opening possessions in both games this season with an inside shot and then a 3-pointer… Owens would score the opening points for the second straight game and was followed by Mooney knocking down a 3-pointer. Against UIW, Owens had a dunk to start the game and was followed by Moretti hitting a 3-pointer… Texas Tech has started the first two games of the season with 9-0 runs… Texas Tech led by 23 at halftime after hitting five 3-pointers and shooting 53.3 percent from the field.

UP NEXT: The Red Raiders will host Southeastern Louisiana at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at the USA. The Lions are coming off winning the 2018 Southland Conference regular-season championship after going 15-3 in league play. The Lions championship run included a 73-62 win over SFA in the regular season before the Lumberjacks won the tournament championship with a 59-55 win over SLU. Texas Tech would meet SFA in the NCAA first round and advance with a 70-60 win in Dallas. Southeastern Louisiana’s season would end with a loss to No. 25 St. Mary’s in the NIT.