No. 25 Red Raiders roll past Texas Southern

LUBBOCK, Texas – Kevin Obanor and Jaylon Tyson scored 13 points each while De’Vion Harmon added 12 as No. 25 Texas Tech rolled to a 78-54 win over Texas Southern to extend a 23-game home winning streak on Thursday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders (2-0) had 11 players score for the second straight game to begin the season and jumped out to a 44-28 lead at halftime after shooting 58.6 percent form the field in the first half. Tech finished the game shooting 45.9 percent and limited the Tigers (0-2) to just 35.0 percent.

Obanor finished the game with 13 points and also led the team with seven rebounds and two steals. He was making his 39th straight start for the Red Raiders and was 6-for-8 from the field and 1-for-1 from beyond the arc.

“It’s only the second game of the season and we’ve got much basketball left,” Obanor said. “We didn’t do anything special. I was playing the right way. That’s the right goal. I’m not trying to do too much out of force, getting buckets. It comes naturally. Some days I have 20. Some days I have 10. We just have to let everything happen naturally.”

Tyson, who had eight points in the season-opening win over Northwestern State, matched Obanor with 13 pints and would also have three rebounds and two steals. Tyson was 6-for-11 from the field in the game. Harmon scored in double figures for the first time as a Red Raider by going for 12 points on 3-for-6 shooting from the field and also making 6 of 8 from the free-throw line. He added a team-high three assists and also had two steals.

Tech finished the game with eight steals and scored 17 points off turnovers.

“We were just as good when we played small ball—going up and down,” Harmon said. “I think we showed that tonight. We showed it really well.”

Daniel Batcho scored seven points and had four rebounds in the win over Texas Southern after recording a double-double in the opener on Monday, while Pop Isaacs had six pints and two assists from the starting lineup. Tech freshman Elijah Fisher led the reserves with seven points, while D’Maurian Williams and Kerwin Walton had five points each with Walton topping the team with 24 minutes played.

“We talk before the game about culture and about defending our culture,” Texas Tech coach Mark Adams said. “You know culture is a lot of things. It’s our bench morale, how we huddle, sharing the ball, a point to a teammate that gives you the assist and then you know getting on the floor. But you know taking charge is a big part of it, being physical.”

Zytarious Morite led Texas Southern with 12 points and four rebounds, while Davon Barnes had 10 points. The Tigers are the preseason pick to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference and have advanced to two straight NCAA Tournaments where they have won First Four matchups in both years.

The Red Raiders will complete a three-game homestand to begin the season by hosting Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. on Monday at the USA. The Bulldogs are led by head coach Talvin Hester who was an assistant at Texas Tech last season during Adams’ first season. Louisiana Tech opened the season with a 78-61 home win over Mississippi College on Monday in its only game of the opening week.