National Basketball Association
Utah 73, Texas Tech 63
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, November 19, 2015
Where: Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan
Officials:
# Steve Olson, # Kelly Self, # Bert Smith
Attendance:
1947
By The Sports Xchange
Guard Lorenzo Bonam scored 20 points and forward Jordan Loveridge added 18 points to lift No. 16 Utah to a 73-63 victory over Texas Tech in the opening round of the Puerto Rico Tip-off on Thursday in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Center Jakob Poeltl chipped in 15 points and nine rebounds for the Utes. Utah (3-0) will play Miami in a semifinal game on Friday.
Guard Devaugntah Williams scored 13 points and guard Toddrick Gotcher added 12 points for the Red Raiders (1-1), who will play Mississippi State in a consolation game on Friday.
Utah prevailed despite shooting just 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the field and 25 percent (6-of-24) on 3-pointers. Texas Tech shot 39.1 percent (25-of-64) from the floor but just 15.8 percent (3-of-19) from 3-point range.
Poeltl scored back-to-back baskets to ignite a 15-2 run for Utah early in the first half. Once Loveridge capped the run with a 3-pointer, the Utes had an 18-8 lead.
Utah led by as many as 12 points, going up 24-12 on a layup from Bonam with 10:54 left before halftime.
Texas Tech quickly cut the lead to five. The Red Raiders made it 24-19 when Aaron Ross capped a 7-0 run with a jumper.
With Poeltl on the bench because of foul trouble, Texas Tech hung with the Utes in the final eight minutes of the half. The Red Raiders made it a one-possession game, cutting Utah's lead to 36-33 on a dunk from Zach Smith with four seconds left in the half.
Utah struggled to get breathing room against Texas Tech after struggling with poor shooting for much of the second half. The Utes finally gained some separation when Taylor, Loveridge and Bonam scored layups on three consecutive possessions, giving Utah a 62-49 lead with 5:58 left.
The Red Raiders trimmed Utah's lead to 66-60 with 2:52 remaining. Loveridge answered with a 3-pointer a minute later to close the door on a rally.
Utah outrebounded Texas Tech 45-38 and had a 34-24 advantage in points in the paint.
Top Game Performances
Utah |
|
Texas Tech |
Lorenzo Bonam 20 |
Scoring |
Devaugntah Williams 13 |
Lorenzo Bonam 4 |
Assists |
Toddrick Gotcher 5 |
Jakob Poeltl 9 |
Rebounds |
Zach Smith 8 |
Lorenzo Bonam 8 |
Free Throws Made |
Toddrick Gotcher 3 |
Lorenzo Bonam 1 |
Steals |
Keenan Evans 1 |
Jakob Poeltl 1 |
Blocks |
Norense Odiase 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Utah
|
73 |
38.3 |
6-24 |
21-27 |
9 |
40 |
3 |
5 |
7 |
Texas Tech
|
63 |
39.1 |
3-19 |
10-18 |
9 |
33 |
4 |
3 |
9 |