Evans Has 23, Gary 18 And 11 To Lead Texas Tech To 89-46 Win Over Nicholls
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LUBBOCK (AP) - Keenan Evans scored 23 points, Justin Gray had a double-double and Texas Tech won its sixth straight, 89-46 over Nicholls State on Wednesday night.
Gray finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Red Raiders (9-1), who shot 55 percent and outrebounded Colonels 43-18. Zach Smith and Niem Stevenson added 13 points apiece.
The Colonels (5-6) were led by 18 points and five rebounds from Jahvaughn Powell.
Texas Tech's (9-1) first half was punctuated by consecutive putback dunks from Gray and Smith. After Smith's dunk, which put Texas Tech up 33-15 with 6:22 left in the first half, the Colonels immediately took a timeout. Gray added another explosive putback dunk less than two minutes later, helping build the Red Raiders' 45-23 halftime lead.
Nicholls State shot 34 percent from the floor and lost the points off turnover margin 33-13 despite have just six more giveaways.
BIG PICTURE
Nicholls State: The first game in Richie Riley's tenure as head coach of the Colonels was a 79-73 win at Atlantic Coast Conference-member Boston College in November but they have won consecutive games only once this season.
Texas Tech: Smith was back in the starting lineup Wednesday. Smith, who averaged 11 points and seven rebounds, injured his ankle before the Dec. 7 game against Texas-San Antonio and was held out. Smith's presence aided the Red Raiders frontcourt, which saw recently-recovered Aaron Ross play sparingly and is still missing Norense Odiase because of an injury.
UP NEXT
Nicholls State, which has played three Power 5 opponents this season, has two more games before it begins Southland Conference play. It hosts Mobile on Dec. 18.
Texas Tech has two more games before Big 12 play starts. It visits Richmond Saturday.
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