The Sports Xchange
Dec 19, 2017
Texas Tech wore down Florida Atlantic and stretched out its lead in the second half on the way to a 90-54 victory on Tuesday night at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas.
The No. 21 Red Raiders opened the second half with a 20-7 run to build a 20-point lead and never allowed the Owls to climb back in the game.
Texas Tech buried Florida Atlantic from 3-point range in the final 20 minutes. Jarrett Culver and Tommy Hamilton hit treys on back-to-back trips down the floor to stretch a 12-point lead to 18.
The Red Raiders hit 11 of 16 shots from beyond the arc in the second half.
Keenan Evans made 3 of 6 3-pointers and finished with 15 points to lead six players in double figures for Texas Tech (10-1). Davide Moretti finished with 14 points, Hamilton pitched in 13, Niem Stevenson added 12, Culver had 11 and Zhaire Smith scored 10.
Justin Massey scored 17 points to lead Florida Atlantic (6-5) and Ronald Delph added 16.
Texas Tech finished the first half on a 12-5 run ignited by Smith's fast-break dunk and 3-pointer by Evans. Smith then capped the spurt when he got into the lane for a basket that gave the Red Raiders a 40-33 edge at halftime.
Florida Atlantic trailed 13-4 early but clawed back into the game by keeping Texas Tech from making a field goal for five minutes. That helped the Owls tie the score at 17 on Amir Smith's layup with 10:56 remaining in the first half.
The Owls were playing without Jailyn Ingram and Payton Hulsey, both of whom were injured in the last week.
The Red Raiders pressed their depth advantage by rotating 10 players in the first half. Texas Tech had nine different scorers in the first 20 minutes, led by Evans with 10.
But the Owls produced more bench points than the Red Raiders in the first half as Massey came off the bench to lead Florida Atlantic with 14.
NOTES: Texas Tech and Florida Atlantic were facing each other for the first time. Texas Tech was playing its second straight Conference USA opponent after defeating Rice on Saturday. Florida Atlantic took on its first Big 12 opponent since losing 77-54 at Kansas on Nov. 30, 2011. ... Florida Atlantic was playing its first game of the season outside the state of Florida. ... Texas Tech finished a three-game run against opponents with Owl mascots. The Red Raiders defeated Kennesaw State 82-53 on Wednesday and Rice 73-53 on Saturday.