A welcomed Christmas gift: No. 25 Red Raiders establish dominance in paint, down Eagles
Bryson Williams got his scoring opportunities and capitalized Wednesday afternoon.
But the 6-foot-8 forward found himself in foul trouble and on the Texas Tech bench for the last six-and-a-half minutes going into halftime of a nonconference game against Eastern Washington.
That didn't matter as Williams netted 12 points along with Adonis Arms as the Red Raiders dominated the paint and were sharpshooters from the three-point line en route to a 78-46 over the Eagles inside United Supermarkets Arena.
"Coming into this one, it's coming into Christmas break, and I know guys are ready to go home and celebrate the holidays with their families," said Williams, who had five points last Saturday against Gonzaga. "We just all came out with the mindset that we were ready to fight and ready to care of business and be able to have a Merry Christmas."
Kevin Obanor (11 points, seven rebounds, career-high four assists) and Kevin McCullar (10 points, three rebounds) also aided on the offensive end in what was an all-around team effort going into a three-day break before the team reconvenes on Christmas day.
It was a welcomed sight as well considering Terrence Shannon, Jr. missed his second straight game due to back spasms while fellow guard Mylik Wilson is out following minor knee surgery
"The score isn't really indicative of the game, that first 10,12 minutes was a dog fight," Texas Tech coach Mark Adams said. "Give Eastern Washington a lot of credit, they're going to win a lot of games. ... It was a great game to end on, going into the Christmas holidays."
With the victory, Texas Tech (9-2) bounced back following a loss to nationally-ranked Gonzaga last weekend while Eastern Washington (6-6) had a two-game winning streak snapped.
The Red Raiders got back in the win column thanks to getting Williams going early, finding the former UTEP forward for a right-wing three-pointer to knot the game at 3-3 with less than a minute expired in the first half.
The Williams three-pointer was the catalyst to a 9-0 offensive surge that gave Texas Tech a 9-3 advantage before EWU clawed its way back.
Angelo Allegri went on a personal 5-0 run before netting a 3-pointer to give Eastern Washington its first lead of the game at 13-12 at the 14:47 mark of the first stanza.
Arms — who has scored in double figures in his last three contests, including two starts — went on his won 5-0 offensive surge to put Texas Tech ahead 17-13 before a familiar face helped continue the offensive punch.
After Linton Acliese netted a triple, Williams drained a jumper as the Red Raiders engineered a 10-0 run that provided a bit of scoring cushion at 27-16 with nine minutes until the midway point.
"I mean, we have big confidence in Bryson," said Texas Tech guard Clarence Nadolny, who finished with four points and a career high three assists in the win. "We want him to have the ball. We're going to give it to him as much as we can because we know what he can do.
"We know if we give him the ball, he's a weapon on offense."
Texas Tech continued its success at the three-point line, while also attacking the paint to close the first half on a 23-11 advantage and head into halftime — following stellar perimeter defense from Obanor to force an airball — with a 50-27 lead.
The Red Raiders never let their foot off the pedal but did make some mistakes by turning the ball over more than 10 times in the second half despite securing the home win.
Rylan Bergersen ended with 10 points to lead the Eagles, while Acliese and Allegri netted nine and eight points, respectively.
"Our game plan, really, was just to come out and stay aggressive on offense and really be aggressive on defense," Williams said. "We know Eastern Washington is a really well-coached team and those guys could really fill it up in a hurry.
"We just tried to do the best job that we can to neutralize them as much as we can on the three-point line. Have as much of a presence as we can on the inside."
What's next for Texas Tech basketball?
Texas Tech is scheduled to host Alabama State at 1 p.m. Dec. 28 to close out the nonconference portion of its schedule.
Eastern Washington is slated to begin Big Sky Conference play as it takes on Portland State at 7 p.m. Dec. 30.
NO. 25 TEXAS TECH 78, EASTERN WASHINGTON 46
E. WASHINGTON (6-6)
Allegri 3-8 0-0 8, Price 1-5 4-4 7, Bergersen 3-15 4-6 10, Landdeck 0-4 0-0 0, Venters 2-9 0-0 6, Magnuson 2-3 0-0 6, Acliese 3-5 2-2 9, Jones 0-1 0-2 0, George 0-2 0-0 0, Folarin 0-1 0-0 0, Fadal 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-53 10-14 46.
TEXAS TECH (9-2)
Obanor 3-5 3-4 11, Williams 5-8 0-0 12, Arms 5-6 1-2 12, McCullar 3-8 2-2 10, Warren 4-7 0-0 9, Nadolny 0-2 4-5 4, Allen 1-1 1-2 3, Santos-Silva 4-4 0-0 8, Agbo 1-3 0-0 2, Batcho 2-2 1-2 5, Calhoun 1-2 0-0 2, Timperman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-49 12-17 78.
Halftime_Texas Tech 50-27. 3-Point Goals_E. Washington 8-35 (Magnuson 2-3, Allegri 2-6, Venters 2-7, Acliese 1-3, Price 1-3, George 0-1, Jones 0-1, Landdeck 0-3, Bergersen 0-8), Texas Tech 8-20 (Obanor 2-3, McCullar 2-4, Williams 2-4, Arms 1-1, Warren 1-4, Nadolny 0-1, Timperman 0-1, Agbo 0-2). Rebounds_E. Washington 20 (Price, Bergersen 4), Texas Tech 32 (Obanor 7). Assists_E. Washington 12 (Bergersen, Landdeck 3), Texas Tech 17 (McCullar 5). Total Fouls_E. Washington 19, Texas Tech 18. A_12,133 (15,098).
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech men's basketball dominant in win over Eastern Washington
