No. 6 West Virginia Rallies To Beat Texas Tech 80-76
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LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Tarik Phillip scored West Virginia's final eight points and the sixth-ranked Mountaineers ended the game on a 10-2 run to rally for an 80-76 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday, snapping a two-game losing streak.
The Red Raiders (12-6, 2-5 Big 12) were up 76-72 with 1:10 remaining when Patrick hit a 3, got a layup and a free throw off a steal, and got the Mountaineers' final points on a dunk just before the buzzer.
Phillip finished with 20 points, while Jaysean Paige scored 22 and Jonathan Holton added 13 to lead the Mountaineers (16-3, 5-2).
There were 12 lead changes, the last when Patrick took over in the last minute.
Zach Smith scored a career-high 18 points and Toddrick Gotcher added 12 to lead Texas Tech.
West Virginia got 23 points off the Red Raiders' 17 turnovers, and the Mountaineers got 43 points from their bench.
The Red Raiders led for most of the second half until Patrick took over.
They can credit their stellar free throw performance for hanging onto the lead late. Texas Tech missed just two of 34 free throws.
The Mountaineers got 3s when they needed them, hitting on half of their 18 attempts.
Tech put together a 13-3 run — including consecutive three-point plays from Zack Smith and C.J. Williamson — to lead the Mountaineers 43-40 at halftime.
West Virginia's leading scorer, Devin Williams, got into foul trouble early. He fouled out late in the game with just five points.
CLOSE VS T25: Texas Tech's losses against Top 25 teams in the Big 12 have been by seven points or fewer.
TIP-INS:
West Virginia: The Mountaineers lead the country in steals and forced turnovers per game, averaging 24.1 points off turnovers and 18.9 points off second-chance points.
Texas Tech: Sophomore forward Norense Odiase, who broke a bone in his foot in the win at TCU earlier this week, is expected to miss up to six weeks. With Odiase out, Matthew Temple earned his first collegiate start. The junior forward joined the Red Raiders as a walk-on. Temple had two fouls in the game's first 33 seconds. He finished with two points.
UP NEXT:
West Virginia: hosts Kansas State on Tuesday night
Texas Tech: travels to Oklahoma on Tuesday night
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