Texas Tech roared to the finish line of nonconference play in style on Monday in Lubbock, Texas, rolling past North Alabama 85-57 for its sixth win in a row.
The Red Raiders never trailed against the Lions, who have been feisty against several power-conference opponents this season but were no match for a quietly surging Texas Tech crew that hasn’t lost since the final weekend of November. The Red Raiders’ last two wins have come by 36 and 28 points.
Pop Isaacs turned in a second solid game in a row for Texas Tech (11-2) with 21 points. That was on the heels of a career-best 28 points against Sam Houston State.
Chance McMillian chimed in with 16 points for Texas Tech on Monday. Each player connected on three 3-pointers as the Red Raiders shot well from deep, hitting 8 of 20.
Jacari Lane paced North Alabama (6-8) with 19 points and Dallas Howell contributed 11. That tandem combined to knock down 11 of 20 field goals, while the rest of the Lions shot 11-of-38 (28.9 percent). KJ Johnson came in as the Lions’ leading scorer but managed only four points and missed 8 of 9 floor shots.
The Red Raiders wasted no time seizing control on the way to a 44-27 halftime lead. With Isaacs setting the tone with 10 points, Texas Tech connected at a 56.7 percent clip from the field in the opening 20 minutes (17 of 30), with 6-of-11 accuracy from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Red Raiders, who head to Texas on Saturday to begin Big 12 Conference play, shared the ball exceptionally well in the first with 13 assists on their 17 made shots, paced by Warren Washington’s four assists. He wound up with 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting, six rebounds and five assists as the Red Raiders finished with 20 assists.
The Lions could never mount much of a challenge because they couldn’t consistently score. UNA managed points on only 12 of 28 first-half possessions and ended the game with only 22 made field goals.
–Field Level Media