Box Score LUBBOCK — Texas Tech entered Saturday's Throwback Night game against ACU with a well-earned reputation as one of the top defensive teams in the nation.
The 11th-ranked Red Raiders led the national in field goal percentage defense, were second in scoring defense and sixth in 3-point field percentage defense. They had rung up a 9-0 record through the season's first five weeks, including wins over ACU's fellow Southland Conference members Incarnate Word, Southeastern Louisiana and Northwestern State.
Playing in the final game ever at Lubbock Municipal Coliseum, the Red Raiders flexed their considerable defensive muscle as they held the Wildcats to season lows in points, field goals and field goal percentage in an 82-48 win in front of a capacity crowd in the old barn. The game featured both teams wearing throwback uniforms and Tech celebrating great players and coaches from its past in the building the Red Raiders called home from 1956-99.
On the court, however, the star was Tech sophomore guard Jarrett Culver, the Lubbock native and graduate of Coronado High School who entered the game averaging a team-best 17.9 points per game. Culver, however, put on a show Saturday night by hitting 12 of 13 shots from the field (2 of 3 from 3-point range) and 4 of 5 from the free throw line for a career-high 30 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists.
The Wildcats — now 9-2 on the season — were in the game for most of the first half, trailing just 25-21with 8:05 left in the half after a 3-pointer by
Trey Lenox cut into the Red Raiders' lead. But Tech responded by outscoring ACU 16-5 over the final eight minutes of the half to carry a 41-26 lead into halftime.
The Red Raiders ratcheted up the defensive pressure in the second half after ACU hit 10 of 27 shots in the first half (37.0 percent) against the team that entered the game allowing opponents to shoot just 32.6 percent from the field. The Wildcats managed to hist just 5 of 26 shots from the floor in the game's final 20 minutes (19.2 percent), including just 1 of 8 from 3-point range where ACU was 4 of 13 in the first half.
The Wildcats finished the game just 15 of 53 from the floor (28.3 percent), season lows in both field goals and field goal percentage.
Jalone Friday was the only Wildcat to finish in double figures as he had 12, although 10 of those came early in the game when he scored 10 of the Wildcats' first 13 points.
Jaren Lewis had nine and
Jaylen Franklin and
Trey Lenox each had eight points for ACU.
"We did some good things in the first half when it was still close," ACU head coach
Joe Golding said. "We threw some punches and some of them connected and kept us in it. The thing got away from us in the second half because of their defensive pressure. We got some good looks at the basket in the second half, but we just couldn't get them to go down. Their size and length on the defensive end really wears on you over 40 minutes, and then on the offensive end we had no answer for Culver. He's a pro."
The Wildcats will be back in action next Friday (Dec. 21) when they take on Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
