Kevin Obanor scored a season-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and De’Vion Harmon added 19 points and a game-high six steals to help Texas Tech outlast visiting Eastern Washington 77-70 on Tuesday in Lubbock, Texas.
The Red Raiders (7-2) trailed 41-40 with 12:43 to play but took charge of the game with a 6-0 run as Obanor had two free throws and a bucket and KJ Allen added another basket. Eastern Washington clawed to within two points on two occasions down the stretch, the latest after a 3-pointer by Steele Venters with 5:08 to play, but Texas Tech answered each time.
Harmon’s final steal of the game led to two free throws by Allen with 52 seconds remaining, producing a 74-67 advantage that allowed the Red Raiders to cruise to the finish.
Pop Isaacs added 15 points for Texas Tech, which won its 27th straight home game despite shooting just 42.2 percent and missing 21 of its 25 3-point attempts.
Venters led Eastern Washington (4-6) with 26 points, with Angelo Allegri adding 14, Ethan Price scoring 11 and Cedric Coward grabbing 11 rebounds in the loss. The Eagles outshot Texas Tech and hit 11 3-pointers but also had 21 turnovers that led to 23 points for the Red Raiders.
The game had five lead changes early on and was tied at 17 after a free throw by the Eagles’ Casey Jones with 6:21 to play in the first half. Eastern Washington got back-to-back 3-pointers from Allegri to take a six-point advantage and stayed on top until Isaacs’ second-chance 3-pointer with 1:22 remaining leapfrogged the Red Raiders in front at 29-27.
Venters’ layup with 34 seconds left tied the game at 29 heading to halftime.
Allegri led all scorers with 11 points in the half while Venters added 10 for the Eagles. Eastern Washington outshot the Red Raiders 40 percent to 32.4 percent over the first 20 minutes and was even despite committing 11 turnovers.
Obanor paced Texas Tech with nine points before the break; the Red Raiders were just 2 of 17 from beyond the arc.
–Field Level Media
