From K-State
No. 23/23 Texas Tech broke open a 48-all tie with a 13-2 run midway through the second half, as the Red Raiders kept Kansas State winless in Big 12 play with a 77-63 win over the Wildcats on Tuesday night before 7,327 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.
The loss spoiled yet another valiant comeback effort by K-State, which rallied from a 15-point first half deficit to take a 46-45 lead with 13:24 to play behind a 9-0 run. Freshman Montavious Murphy played a pivotal role in the run, scoring 5 consecutive points before a layup by junior Cartier Diarra gave the Wildcats the lead.
Texas Tech (11-5, 2-2 Big 12) started its decisive 13-2 run with 7 consecutive points, including 4 in a row from redshirt freshman Kevin McCullar, and was capped by a 3-pointer from sophomore Kyler Edwards with 10:22 remaining. After a basket by Diarra closed it to 55-50 with just under 10 to play, the Red Raiders rattled off 6 more in a row to push it back into double figures at 61-50 with 7:13 to go.
The Wildcats (7-9, 0-4 Big 12) again rallied to within 62-56 after a layup by freshman DaJuan Gordon off a missed free throw by Diarra at the 4:51 mark, but they could get no closer, as the Red Raiders responded with 7 in a row to push it back to double digits at 69-56 with 3:31 remaining.
Edwards led all players with 24 points on 9-of-14 field goals, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, while junior Davide Moretti chipped in 14 points on 3-of-6 field goals (all from 3-point range) and a 5-of-6 effort from the free throw line. Freshman Jahmi’us Ramsey and McCullar each added 10 points.
K-State was led by 19 points from junior Cartier Diarra, who connected on 7-of-11 from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, while senior Xavier Sneed and Murphy added 14 and 11 points, respectively. It was Murphy’s first career double-digit scoring effort, who went a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
Both teams connected on 47.2 percent of its field goals, but Texas Tech took advantage of 20 K-State turnovers to post 30 of its 73 points. The 30 points off turnovers tied for the most by an opponent under head coach Bruce Weber and the most since Kansas also had 30 points on Feb. 3, 2016.
The teams were whistled for a combined 46 personal fouls and attempted 60 free throws. The Wildcats hit on 73.5 percent (25-of-34) of their free throw attempts compared to 76.9 percent (20-of-26) from the Red Raiders.
The loss dropped K-State to winless after 4 conference games for the first time since 2008-09.
