Texas Tech has been staging comebacks throughout the season, but falling into a hole as deep and as early as the Red Raiders did on Saturday at West Virginia didn't seem like an ideal situation.
Unfazed, though, Texas Tech shot its way back into the game from beyond the 3-point arc before halftime and then controlled the second half with one of its most efficient offensive performances of the season to defeat the Mountaineers 81-70 victory.
Texas Tech (20-9, 9-7 Big 12) wiped out a deficit that swelled to 20-4 during a 1-for-11 shooting start. A 23-9 run fueled by four 3-pointers from four players flipped the script and eventually laid the foundation for Texas Tech to trail just 45-39 at halftime.
The Mountaineers (9-20, 4-12) built the sizable lead by shooting the ball well in the first half before fading in the second half.
West Virginia shot 61.5 percent in the half and 8-of-13 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, Texas Tech started the game was 2-for-14 (0-for-5 from deep). But the roles reversed in the second half, and it didn't take long for Texas Tech to seize control.
West Virginia notched the first two points after halftime on Jesse Edwards' layup, but the Red Raiders caught fire and launched 13-3 burst that culminated with Chance McMillian's 3-pointer to put them in front 52-50.
The Mountaineers briefly regained a 57-56 lead with a 6-0 burst, but they lost it 10 seconds later and never led again.
Texas Tech's hot hand in the second half assured that. The Red Raiders connected on 16-of-28 from the floor after halftime and 7-of-15 from 3-point range -- ending the game with 13 makes from beyond the arc.
Texas Tech's Joe Toussaint, a transfer from West Virginia, led the way with 21 points, while McMillian added 19, bolstered by five 3-pointers.
Edwards paced the Mountaineers with 18 points, 13 in the second half when he made 6 of 7 shots. The rest of West Virginia's roster combined to make only 3-of-16 floor shots after halftime.
--Field Level Media
Texas Tech | West Virginia | |
Joe Toussaint 21 | Scoring | Jesse Edwards 18 |
Joe Toussaint 7 | Assists | Kobe Johnson 4 |
Darrion Williams 9 | Rebounds | Jesse Edwards 8 |
Chance McMillian 2 | Free Throws Made | Patrick Suemnick 3 |
Joe Toussaint 3 | Steals | Jesse Edwards 1 |
N/A | Blocks | RaeQuan Battle 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Texas Tech | 81 | 47.7 | 13-31 | 6-8 | 21 | 30 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
West Virginia | 70 | 51.0 | 9-22 | 11-17 | 15 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 14 |