West Virginia tops Texas Tech to extend losing streak

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech had its losing streak extended to eight games with a 76-61 loss to West Virginia on Wednesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

“I’ve got to get these guys to go play better,” Texas Tech head coach Mark Adams said. “We’ve got a bunch of good kids and they’re trying hard. This is all on the head coach and I certainly assume that responsibility. They’re trying hard. They’re good kids. They’re wanting to win.”

The Red Raiders (10-10, 0-8 Big 12) will return to action this weekend against LSU at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Maravich Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The game is part of the Big 12-SEC Challenge and will be broadcast on ESPNU. Tech returns home for a quick turnaround where it’ll host No. 12 Iowa State at 8 p.m. on Monday, January 30 at the USA.

WVU (12-8, 2-6 Big 12) hosts Auburn on Saturday before playing at TCU next Tuesday in Fort Worth.

Kevin Obanor led Tech with 20 points and eight rebounds, while De’Vion Harmon added 14 points and Robert Jennings had seven in 14 minutes off the bench. Pop Isaacs left the game early in the second half with an ankle injury after landing awkwardly on a 3-point attempt. He had two points and two assists in 18 minutes of play before being sidelined the rest of the night. Jaylon Tyson scored six and Daniel Batcho had four points, three rebounds and a team-high three assists from the starting lineup.

Obanor, who leads the team with 15.0 points per game this season, was 7-for-13 from the field and 5-of-5 at the free-throw line. He made one 3-pointer in the game. Obanor now has 1,976 points and 1,016 rebounds in his career. It was the sixth time this season he’s scored 20 or more.

Tech senior Fardaws Aimaq did not play due to injury after playing the previous three games. He had missed the first 16 games this season with a foot injury. He is listed as day-to-day.

WVU’s Joe Toussaint had a game-high 22 points after making four shots from the field and going 12-for-14 at the free-throw line. Erik Stevenson was 9-of-11 at the line and finished with 16 points. The Mountaineers were 28-of-35 at the free-throw line on the night while Tech went 16-for-23.

The Red Raiders finished the game shooting 21-for-54 (38.9 percent) from the field and were just 3-for-20 on 3-pointers. WVU made 10 3-pointers.
Tech was out-rebounded by a 44-27 margin and 50-15 on bench scoring.

WVU took a 33-28 lead into halftime after going on a 6-0 run to close out a half where there were seven lead changes. Obanor led Tech with 11 points and four rebounds, while Harmon had seven points. WVU hit six 3-pointers in the half while the Red Raiders were 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. Toussaint led the Mountaineers off the bench with eight points, including two 3-pointers. Tech had built a 15-5 lead early for a double-digit lead before trailing by five going into halftime.

The Red Raiders have now lost four straight home games after having their 29-game home winning streak end against Kansas in their first conference game of the season. They have now had home losses to the Jayhawks, Oklahoma, Baylor and the Mountaineers after going 9-0 in Big 12 play at home last season.

GAME TRACKER
WVU won the tip but did not score… Tech took a 2-0 lead off an Obanor layup that was assisted by Isaacs on its first possession
Tech started the game on an 8-0 run with Obanor scoring the first six before a fastbreak layup from Harmon… WVU was 0-for-6 from the field to start the game (0-for-4 on 3s) before a Matthews layup made it an 8-2 Tech lead going into the first media timeout – WVU had five turnovers in the opening five minutes of the game
Tech took a 15-5 lead on a Tyson layup for its first double-figure lead of the game… The Red Raiders started the game 6-for-10 from the field
Obanor got to 11 points with a layup off an assist from Batcho to give Tech an 18-12 lead (9:24)… He had started the game 4-for-7 shooting to get to double figures
Walton hit Tech’s first 3-pointer, giving the Red Raiders a 21-15 lead with 8 minutes remaining in the first half… Tech was 1-for-4 on 3s after the shot – Walton’s first shot of the game
WVU was on a 7-0 run and took a 22-21 lead after hitting four straight free throws, including coming off a technical foul on Walton
Harmon stopped the run with two free throws, giving Tech a 23-22 lead with 4:15 remaining until halftime…. Harmon had four points and Tech was 6-for-7 at the line after the shots
WVU took a 33-28 lead on a 3-pointer by Mitchell to extend a 6-0 run… The Mountaineers were 6-for-20 on 3s after the shot and Tech was 1-for-7 on 3s at that point
Obanor scored Tech’s first basket of the second half, bringing Tech to within 34-30…. He had 13 points after the basket
Isaacs scored his first points on a runner in the lane to make it 38-33 four minutes into the second half… Isaacs would miss a 3 and twist an ankle on the next possession
A pair of Obanor free throws cut WVU’s lead to 42-39 with 13:30 to play… Obanor had 15 points and was 5-for-5 at the line after the free throws
Obanor hit his first 3-pointer of the game to give him 18 points and cut WVU’s lead to 49-47 with 10:25 to play… Tech was 2-for-13 on 3-pointers while WVU had made nine at that point
WVU took a 61-50 lead on a pair of Toussaint free throws with 6:09 to play… WVU was 21-of-26 at the line after his makes that extended a 6-0 run
Batcho would stop the run by getting into the lane for a layup and foul… He made the free throw to cut it to 61-53 with 5:12 to play
Harmon drove in for a layup to cut WVU’s lead to 65-56 with 2:40 remaining… Harmon had 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting after the basket that made it a 9-point game

Release provided by WES BLOOMQUIST Texas Tech Athletics