.The Red Raiders were only up by 35-32 with just under 12 minutes left, and Tennessee State (3-2) had just missed a potential tying 3-pointer, before Moretti sparked the home team. The guard, the only returning starter after Tech went to the national championship game last season, had a pair of 3-pointers in a 10-3 run. Tech added 11 points in a row soon after that.The Red Raiders, who never trailed, ended up leading by as many as 18 points late despite shooting only 34% (17 of 50 field goals).Ravel Moody had 12 points to lead Tennessee State, which shot 35% (18 of 51). Wesley Harris and Shakem Johnson each scored 10 points.Kyler Edwards added 10 points for Texas Tech, making up for his 1-of-11 shooting from the field by making all eight of his free throws. Chris Clark was scoreless while taking only one shot in 26 minutes, but he had 12 rebounds and four assists.BIG PICTURETennessee State: The Tigers clawed all night against the reigning national runner-up. A bad shooting night by the Red Raiders kept the Tigers in the game, but fouls proved to be a key contributor to the loss. Tech made 32 of 38 free throws. Tennessee State faced tough competition in their first trip to Lubbock in history.Texas Tech: An eight-day break for the Red Raiders may have been a factor in their slow night. Ramsey, the freshman who had gotten off to a tremendous start, was 4-of-13 shooting and missed all six of his 3-point attempts. Tech's defense, on the other hand, showed different life with solid press, zone and man coverage.UP NEXTTennessee State heads to the West Coast to take on San Diego State on Monday night.Texas Tech hosts Long Island on Sunday before leaving the state of Texas for the first time. The Red Raiders will spend the Thanksgiving holiday playing two games in Las Vegas.---More college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/-Top25)
Nov 20, 2019No. 12 Texas Tech has breezed through its first three games but could get a run for its money on its march through the non-conference schedule when it hosts Tennessee State on Thursday in Lubbock, Texas.The Red Raiders (3-0) own a 49-game non-conference home winning streak.Texas Tech, on the heels of a 103-74 win over Houston Baptist on Nov. 13, is averaging 89 points and a nation-leading 26 assists per game. The Red Raiders continue to be a defense-first team and have limited their first three opponents to 59.3 points per game and 36.7 percent shooting.Turnovers have been a problem, though, as the Red Raiders learn to play together. Texas Tech had 23 miscues in the win over Houston Baptist."Just too many," Red Raiders' coach Chris Beard said about the turnovers. "You look at the stat sheet, you've got 27, assists which means you're playing team basketball. You shoot almost [60] percent from the floor."So, I mean, literally you could have scored 140 or 150 (against Houston Baptist) if you don't keep handing the ball to the other team. We just have to be a lot more careful and confident with our ball handling." Freshman guard Jahmi'us Ramsey scored 25 points, 20 in the first half, against Houston Baptist and has been the Red Raiders' best player early on. Ramsey leads the team in scoring at 19.0 points per game, and in all three of his showings as a Red Raider, he's reached double digits, with his 13 points in the year's second game being his season-low to this point.He's also tops on the team in rebounding at 6.3 per game.Tennessee State (3-1) travels to Lubbock following a 99-65 win over Fisk University on Monday in Nashville and a 79-78 victory over Lipscomb last week. The Tigers' lone loss came against Chattanooga in a 59-57 decision.In his second season with the Tigers, coach Brian "Penny" Collins basically has a new team. After a 9-21 season, he's infused his locker room with talent, junior college signees and other veterans such as grad transfers Wesley Harris (West Virginia), Jy'lan Washington (Louisiana Tech) and Jon Brown (Georgia Tech).The Tigers, from the Ohio Valley Conference, can spread the floor and shoot from beyond the arc."We haven't done anything yet, obviously, to me," Collins told The Tennessean. "It's hard for me to get excited about anything that we do yet. But I do believe this team could be a special team and has a chance to contend for one of the top spots in the OVC." Tennessee State is averaging 85.3 points per game through four games and is shooting 54.2 percent from the field. It owns a plus-10.3 rebounding margin advantage over opponents and is averaging 16.5 assists per game.With four players averaging double-figure scoring, the Tigers currently have a 18.3-point average margin of victory. Carlos Marshall, a sophomore, leads the team with 14.8 points per game and recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds against Fisk.Emmanuel Egbuta, a senior, leads the team with seven rebounds per game.The Red Raiders and Tigers will meet for the first time in history. Tech is 8-5 all-time against Ohio Valley Conference opponents following the 85-60 season-opening win over Eastern Illinois.--Field Level Media
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