Red Raiders extend winning streak to eight with win over Cowboys

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech committed only four turnovers and had all five starters score in double figures in a 90-73 win over Oklahoma State in its Big 12 home opener on Tuesday at United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders (13-2, 2-0 Big 12) extended their winning streak to eight and are now 9-0 on their home court going into this weekend when they host Kansas State (12-3, 2-0 Big 12) at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the USA. OSU (8-7, 0-2 Big 12) jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the game but saw its three-game winning streak over Tech in the series come to an end.

“These games are tough in the Big 12,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “Give them credit, they didn’t back down and they made some threes late but the way we shared the ball and the way we committed to handling their runs, I love this group and the way that they stick together.”

Pop Isaacs led Tech with 24 points after making four 3-pointers, while Warren Washington and Kerwin Walton had 16 each, Darrion Williams added 14 and Joe Toussaint finished with 13 points. Toussaint surpassed the 1,000-point milestone in the first half after hitting three free throws and now has 1,006 points for his career. Isaacs has led Tech in scoring and scored over 20 points in four straight games after going 9-for-17 from the field and 4-for-8 on 3-pointers. He added four assists and five rebounds in the game and is now leading Tech with 16.7 points per game this season.

Williams finished the game with nine points and four assists to go along with his 14 points. He was 6-for-12 from the field and had three offensive rebounds, falling just one rebound shy of his fourth double-double of the season.

“We practice hard and we work on not being stagnant,” Williams said. “Just playing as a team, swinging as much as possible, especially in practice and nobody tried to play hero ball. So, I think that’s why we had a lot of guys get over 10 points and get some good shots up.”

Walton added 16 points and five rebounds, finishing the night 7-for-8 from the field and 2-for-2 on 3-pointers. Walton’s first 3-pointer gave Tech a 55-41 lead, his second made it a 60-41 game. “We come into every single game playing for each other and competing for wins and that’s just how we approach the game every day,” he said. Washington scored his 16 points by going 7-for-10 from the field after going 5-for-5 from the field in the previous two games and coming into the game with 11 straight makes. He missed his first shot to break that streak but would turn in his second highest scoring performance of the season and led Tech and matched a career-high with five assists. Chance McMillian led the reserves with five points and snapped a personal streak of five straight games in double figures for him. McMillian hit one 3-pointer in the game, pushing the lead to 65-44. Robert Jennings added two points and an assist from the bench.

Texas Tech took a 40-31 lead into halftime despite falling into a 7-0 hole to start the game. Isaacs scored 13 points with three 3-pointers to lead the Red Raiders, while Darrion Williams had eight points, six rebounds, and three assists in the first half. Toussaint was at seven points and two steals and Walton provided six points going into the break where Tech was 14-for-25 from the field, 3-for-6 on 3-pointers, and 9-of-11 at the free-throw line. Isaacs finished the half with 3-for-5 on 3-pointers. The Red Raiders had seven assists on 14 makes. Down early, Tech went on a 6-0 run that was capped by a Warren Washington steal and slam. Another run would give them the lead, this time an 11-0 run that started on a Walton high-arching layup and included an Isaacs 3-pointer for a 24-22 lead. Another Isaacs 3-pointer pushed the lead to the halftime score. Tech dominated the paint in the first half with a 20-10 scoring advantage inside.

The Red Raiders finished the game with a 46-24 scoring advantage in the paint and with 17 assists on 35-for-59 (59.3 percent) shooting. The four turnovers were a season low. Tech was 13-for-17 at the free-throw line (76.5%) and 7-for-13 on 3-pointers. The four turnovers were the fewest for a Tech team since the Red Raiders had only two turnovers at West Virginia on January 25, 2021.

Kansas State travels to Lubbock for the matchup of 2-0 conference teams after taking an 81-67 win at West Virginia on Tuesday night after opening Big 12 play with a win over UCF.

Release Provided by WES BLOOMQUIST Texas Tech Athletics