Devon Thomas poured in 15 of his career-best 17 points during the second half as the Texas Tech men’s basketball team grinded out a 79-72 road victory at Richmond on Saturday at the Robins Center.
Thomas, a native of Maryland playing in-front of a large contingent of family and friends, was one of four players to reach double figures for the Red Raiders (10-1). He was 7-of-11 from the floor. Thomas also tacked on a career-high tying six rebounds coupled with three assists and two steals in a career-best 31 minutes of action.
The victory was Texas Tech’s seventh straight and moved the Red Raiders to a 10-1 start through 11 games for the second consecutive season. The Red Raiders snapped a streak of seven straight nonconference road losses which dated back to the 2011-12 season. Texas Tech’s last win was a 71-64 decision over Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Dec. 1.
“I’m just really happy for our players. It’s a great win for us because this is a Richmond program that has classic college basketball experience,” Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. “They’re well-coached, and they have the type of program that we’re trying to build at Texas Tech. They play the game the right way. Anytime you win on the road, it’s special. I have nothing but respect for Coach Mooney – good players. I’m just happy for our team.”
Zach Smith secured 17 points and 10 rebounds en route to his team-leading fourth double-double of the season. He also tallied two assists and one block. The lone block vaulted Smith past former All-American and Southwest Conference Player of the Year Will Flemons (1990-93) for sole possession of second place on the program’s all-time list.
Justin Gray nearly claimed his second consecutive double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. He was 5-of-8 shooting and handed out a career-high equaling four assists.
Aaron Ross dialed up 13 of Texas Tech’s 17 bench points and grabbed a season’s best six rebounds in his first extended action following a five-game injury absence.
Keenan Evans totaled nine points and five assists whereas Anthony Livingston, a Washington D.C. native also playing in-front of a large group of family and friends, notched eight points and four rebounds. For Evans, he had his career-long streak of five consecutive games with 10-plus points come to a close.
Texas Tech managed a 30-for-60 overall shooting effort, a 2-for-8 clip from three-point territory and a 17-for-25 ratio at the free throw line. Two key advantages for the Red Raiders was a 46-22 edge in paint points and a 41-28 rebounding margin.
Richmond (5-5) countered with a 25-of-55 effort from the floor and hit on 10-of-28 treys. The Spiders knocked down 12-of-16 from the charity stripe.
Four Richmond players garnered double figures led by Khwan Fore’s 19 points and seven assists. T.J. Cline, a preseason All-Atlantic 10 First-Team pick, had to work for his 11 points on a frosty 3-of-13 shooting. It was his 23rd straight game in double figures. De’Monte Buckingham came away with 16 points and six rebounds off the bench.
The first half featured both teams connecting at a 50 percent field goal rate. The two teams played within one possession for a majority of the final 13 minutes of the opening 20 minutes. Richmond took a 37-36 lead into the locker room fueled by 13 points from Buckingham.
“We felt good about our offense in the first half with the exception of too many turnovers,” Beard said. “We could never get into a rhythm. I thought we were able to put a lot of quality offensive possessions together combined with stops on the defensive end during the run in the second half. Basketball is a game of runs. I watched every game Richmond has played this season. During their most successful times, they’re able to put together runs. We’re no different.”
Trailing 45-42 at the 17:13 mark of the second half, the Red Raiders took control of the game on the strength of a 24-4 run over the next 11:09.
Ross, Gray and Niem Stevenson kickstarted the flurry with baskets inside a two-minute span. Gray’s jumper came on the right baseline to beat the shot clock buzzer to make it 48-45 with 15:14 left.
Then, Thomas found his groove to stretch the spread to double digits. He got a steal off backcourt pressure and skied high for a two-handed slam. Thomas rattled home a three-ball on the left wing, got a cutting layup off a nice feed from Smith and drove strong to the rack through traffic for another layup to push the lead to 64-49 with 8:30 remaining.
The Spiders wouldn’t go away and used a quartet of three-pointers to get back to 72-66 with 48 seconds on the clock. Texas Tech closed out the seven-point win and converted on 7-of-10 at the charity stripe during the final 63 seconds.
“We learn with every game during the early season of nonconference,” Beard said. “I would have liked to control the game down the stretch but give Richmond a lot of credit. I knew they had a run in them. I think they are some valuable lessons to learn during this win. I remember at a young age being a player, and you hear coaches say you learn the best lessons when you lose. I just respectfully disagree with that. I think you can learn just as much in the victory as you can in defeat if you bring the attention and the information to the players. We’ll enjoy this tonight because of our respect for Richmond’s program. Tomorrow, they’ll be a lot of teaching points for our team.”
Texas Tech takes on Longwood on Wednesday afternoon before heading into the holiday break and the upcoming Big 12 schedule. Tip time is on-tap for 4 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by FOX Sports Southwest along with the FOX Sports Go app.
Fans can purchase four tickets for $16 to the Longwood game on Sunday, Dec. 18 as part of the Wreck The Halls ticket special by using the promo code WRECKTHEHALLS online at www.TexasTech.com. The United Supermarkets Arena Ticket Office opens 90 minutes prior to tipoff, and tickets start as low as $10 on gameday.
Texas Tech is encouraging fans to arrive as early as possible to men’s and women’s basketball home games due to the temporary closure to the entrance and exit of the Commuter West Lot at the Texas Tech Parkway and Knoxville Avenue. This entrance and exit will be closed from Dec. 5 to Jan. 13 for construction. Fans are asked to use the entrances and exits off Indiana Avenue when arriving from the north along with the entrances and exits at Indiana Avenue and 18th Street when arriving from 19th Street or the Marsha Sharp Freeway.
Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the men’s basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/TexasTechMBB along with @TexasTechMBB on Twitter and Instagram.
(COURTESY TEXAS TECH SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT)
