Red Raiders roll Vandy

FORT WORTH – Pop Isaacs scored 19 points and had a career-high seven assists to help lead Texas Tech to a 76-54 win over Vanderbilt in the US LBM Coast-to-Coast Challenge on Saturday at Dickies Arena.

The Red Raiders (8-2) started the game on a 9-0 run and led 33-25 at halftime before building up a lead that was as high as 24 against the Commodores (4-6). Tech finished the game shooting 9-for-16 (56.3) on 3-pointers and with 22 assists on 26 overall shots. Chance McMillian scored 14 points with two 3-pointers, while Joe Toussaint and Kerwin Walton both scored 12 points to give the Red Raiders four players in double-figure scoring. Warren Washington finished with nine points, seven rebounds, three assists, and one block.

“It was a remarkable crowd with the Red Raiders in full force in Dickies Arena,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “It was a home game for us with the energy of the crowd. We have a lot of respect for Vanderbilt, especially how they execute on offense. They run a lot of actions and haven’t been playing with their full team together. I was concerned at halftime because of our energy, but was thrilled with how our guys competed in the second half. I thought we played great defense for 40 minutes. We were able to separate after a great start. It was a great win for us.”

Isaacs matched his season-high with his 19 points after making 3-of-7 3-pointers and also 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. He finished with a career-high seven assists and only one turnover, besting six assists he had last season in a win over Houston Christian. Toussaint added four assists to give him four or more assists in five straight games. Walton was credited with a three blocks – a career-high.

Tech limited Vanderbilt to only 4-for-20 shooting on 3-pointers and to 35.6 percent overall. The Red Raiders owned a 30-24 scoring advantage in the paint, 15-7 on second-chance points and had a 40-29 rebounding advantage throughout the game. Tech finished the game 15-for-17 at the free-throw line and with a 12-2 scoring advantage on fastbreaks.

Texas Tech took a 33-25 lead into halftime with Isaacs at 11 points and four assists, while Warren Washington had nine points and five rebounds. The Red Raiders started the game on a 9-0 run with Isaacs hitting two 3-pointers and then Walton hitting another. The team would finish the half 4-for-7 on 3-pointers with Isaacs at 3-for-5. His third 3-pointer gave Tech a 23-11 lead and Tech had its largest lead of the half at 27-13 before Vandy cut it to 29-21 going into the final media timeout of the first half and then the eight-point halftime margin. Tech, which had an 18-6 scoring advantage in the paint, led 31-21 on a Washington dunk to give him seven points and Isaacs four assists. Tech finished the first half shooting 14-for-32 from the field while Vanderbilt was only 9-for-27 (33.3 percent) from the field and 3-for-11 on 3-pointers. Tech was 1-for-2 on free throws. Vanderbilt was 4-for-5.

After halftime, Tech went on a 7-0 run to take a 40-29 lead with McMillian layup followed by a 3-pointer from Toussaint and a fastbreak layup by Jennings. The run followed Vanderbilt cutting the Tech lead to four points at 33-29. McMillian 3-pointer pushed lead to 43-30 off Walton assist before Toussaint made his second 3-pointer for a 48-36 lead. Walton hit his second 3-pointer to give Tech a 55-40 lead with 9:26 to play and Tech extended its lead to 61-42 with McMillian coming away with a steal that led to an Isaacs layup for the 19-point lead and give him 17 points. McMillian hit Tech’s ninth 3-pointer to push the lead to 64-42 as the Red Raiders started putting the game away. A McMillian dunk off a Warren Washington assist gave Tech a 70-50 lead with just over three minutes to play.

Texas Tech will return home to host UT Arlington at 1 p.m. on Thursday, December 21 at United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders are currently 5-0 at home this season and on a 27-game non-conference home winning streak.

–TECH–

Release provided by Wes Bloomquist Texas Tech Athletics