Texas Tech upends Ark-Pine Bluff 72-51


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LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Texas Tech was well aware of the threat posed by Marcel Mosley, Arkansas-Pine Bluff's leading scorer, and the Red Raiders knew they needed a stiff defense for him on Friday night.

"That was one of the main keys we had to do because we knew (Mosely) was good from the perimeter and we wanted to make him drive," said Devaugntah Williams, who scored 11 points in Texas Tech's 72-51 win over the Golden Lions.

Justin Gray led the Red Raiders with 13 points.

The win gave the Red Raiders (9-1) their ninth straight win at home and moves them to 2-0 in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic, which continues Monday for Texas Tech.

Texas Tech pulled away slowly in the second half as the Golden Lions shooting fell off considerably.

Ghiavonni Robinson scored 17 points and Mosely added 14 for the Golden Lions (2-9).

The taller Red Raiders dominated on the defensive boards, outrebounding Arkansas-Pine Bluff 37-25, and got the ball inside for 30 points.

Texas Tech has relied regularly on its bench this season and this game was no different. The Red Raiders got 36 points from nonstarters.

"That was the difference," Red Raiders coach Tubby Smith said. "They were with us in the first half and once you keep the pressure on them and you bring in a fresh body and a fresh set of legs and guys are quicker and jumping higher and fatigue sets in on everyone at some point in time."

Texas Tech got 16 second-chance points off 10 offensive rebounds, compared to four points off seven offensive rebounds for the Golden Lions.

The Golden Lions fell behind by 20 points after a four-minute drought midway through the second half. Texas Tech's shooting got more accurate, while the Golden Lions' accuracy waned.

The Red Raiders shot 48 percent on 23 of 48 from the field. The Golden Lions hit on just 31 percent from the field, hitting on just 15 of 48 field goals.

"We need to make more shots," Golden Lions coach George Ivory said. "We missed some wide open shots that we usually hit. You play against a good team like this, you can't make a lot of mistakes and miss a lot of wide open shots."

The Golden Lions failed to get their second straight road win after getting their first in seven tries Wednesday in their overtime win against Houston, giving the Cougars their first home loss in five games.

It was the first-ever meeting of the two programs. UAPB is now 0-18 against Big 12 opponents.

The Red Raiders led by 10 points once and nine three times in the first half, including a 35-26 at halftime, but couldn't separate themselves further from the Golden Lions.

Mosely, UAPB's leading scorer, was held to five points on two shots from the field.

Texas Tech struggled against the Golden Lions zone defense but still managed to get 14 points in the paint — all layups. They got nine points off nine turnovers by Arkansas-Pine Bluff, while yielding just three points off their seven turnovers.

Free throws were the difference in the first half. The Red Raiders hit 12 of 18, while the Golden Lions got only four points on six attempts from the line.

TIP-INS

Arkansas-Pine Bluff: Mosely, coming off a career-high 33 points in an overtime win at Houston earlier this week, was held below his season average of 17.9 points per game, which coming into the game led the Southwestern Athletic Conference in scoring. He shot three of 14 from the field. He was the high scorer in seven of the team's last 10 games before Friday's game.

Texas Tech: Foul trouble early in the second half kept Norense Odiase from getting his sixth game in double figures. The 6-9, 265-pounder from Fort Worth ranks first in the Big 12 and seventh nationally among freshman for offensive rebounding (3.2 per game). He had three on Friday. He was part of the first time the program started a trio of freshman.

STAT LINE

These Red Raiders are the seventh team in school history to start 9-1.

UP NEXT

Arkansas-Pine Bluff plays Southern Utah in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Texas Tech takes on Loyola (Illinois) in Las Vegas on Monday.

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