#18 Red Raiders complete regular season sweep of #14 Longhorns with 68-59 win in Lubbock

[HornSports Staff]

Matt Coleman scored ten points and had six assists in the Longhorns' 68-59 loss to the Red Raiders on Saturday in Lubbock. Coleman's three-pointer  at the halftime buzzer tied the game at 33-33, sending Texas into the locker room with momentum for the second half.

That momentum quickly subsided with the start of the second half. The Longhorns missed their first 11 field goals (seven of which were three-pointers) allowing Texas Tech to build a 52-39 lead. Brock Cunningham's three-pointer at the 11:02 mark gave Texas their first bucket of the half, and the Longhorns would eventually narrow the Texas Tech lead to just three points late in the game.

The Longhorns trailed the Red Raiders 59-56 with 3:22 left in the game, but failed to capitalize on offensive possessions and were forced to foul in the waning minute of the game.  The Red Raiders sunk five free throws to hold on and defeat the Longhorns 68-59.

Texas shot 34.7% from the field compared to Texas Tech's 44%. The Longhorns went 7-24 from three point range.

With their second true road loss of the season, head coach Shaka Smart thought his guys didn't play with the level of intensity that the Red Raiders did.

”Yeah, I thought Tech played with a really good edge today. They played like a team that truly, you know had the gift of desperation and I think this time of year, that's  a huge, huge Advantage. Especially when you go on the road, you have to match that, you have to exceed that if you want to win.”

Saturday's game was the first of four Big 12 road games for Texas to complete the regular season.  The Longhorns head to Ames, Iowa next to face the Iowa State Cyclones on Tuesday.

GAME NOTES

*Senior forward Jericho Sims led the Longhorns in scoring with 11 points and seven rebounds
*Matt Coleman's six assists moved him into fourth place on UT's all-time career assists chart at 459
*The Longhorns dropped to 4-6 in games against AP Top 25 opponents this season

 

[Sirhornsalot]

"the gift of desperation"

HUH?