LDN - Sports

Livingston's 3-pointer lifts Texas Tech by No. 7 West Virginia

[January 04, 2017] LUBBOCK, Texas -- Texas Tech forward Anthony Livingston said he took an extended session of shots from the corner in pregame before the Red Raiders faced West Virginia.

So when he got the ball in his hands with six seconds left, Livingston drilled the trey from the corner to lift Texas Tech to a 77-76 overtime victory over the No. 7 Mountaineers on Tuesday night at United Supermarkets Arena.

"I shot that shot, I think over 100 times before the game with (assistant coach) Darryl Dora," Livingston said. "That same exact corner shot. I shot that shot with a lot of confidence."

West Virginia had less than five seconds to answer. Mountaineers guard Jevon Carter got off a desperation 3-pointer from about 25 feet away, but the shot fell short.

Zach Smith scored 15 points to lead Texas Tech (12-2, 1-1 Big 12), reserve Niem Stevenson added 13 and Livingston and guard Keenan Evans each had 12.

Esa Ahmad scored 13 to lead West Virginia (12-2, 1-1 Big 12) and Carter finished with 11.

The Red Raiders rolled to 11 wins in their first 12 games against a mediocre nonconference schedule. But Texas Tech, which made the NCAA Tournament last season, showed it's back in the hunt for a postseason bid.

Texas Tech has now won four of its last six games against ranked opponents, but this was the first under first-year coach Chris Beard.

"In your first year, you need to have some validation to your process," Beard said. "I thought today was a validation win for us internally to show we can compete against some of the best teams in the country."

The Red Raiders committed just six turnovers after the first half and finished with only 13 in 45 minutes against the relentless West Virginia press. Conversely, Texas Tech forced the Mountaineers into 14 turnovers.

"We've worked our tails off to get people to turn it over and then we turn it over," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "We're not a good enough offensive team to have 14 turnovers. We don't shoot it well."

Texas Tech held West Virginia scoreless for two minutes late in the second half and went on a 6-0 run to take a 65-59 lead with 2:52 remaining on a basket by Devon Thomas.

The Mountaineers trailed by five with 53 seconds remaining, but Lamont West hit a pair of free throws and Nathan Adrian hit a 3-pointer from the corner that sent it to overtime tied at 67.

West Virginia held Texas Tech scoreless for the last two minutes of regulation and the first 1:25 of overtime. But the Mountaineers missed the chance to take control from the free-throw line in overtime as they made just 6 of 12 in the extra period.

"I would think that when you miss free-throw-after-free-throw it would bother you to the point that you would go in and work your tail off to try to fix it," Huggins said. "It's my fault for playing them."

[to top of second column]

Texas Tech Red Raiders forward Zach Smith (11) and West Virginia Mountaineers forward Nathan Adrian (11) go after a lose ball in the second half at United Supermarkets Arena. Smith scored 15 points to lead the Red Raiders in the 77-76 win over #7 West Virginia in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The Mountaineers scratched out a seven-point lead early in the second half with a 6-0 run.

Carter got to the basket for a layup, Adrian had a tip-in Daxter Miles Jr. made a layup to put West Virginia in front 45-38 with 17:13 remaining.

Texas Tech clawed back and took the lead with guard Shadell Millinghaus hit a trey in the corner for a 51-50 edge with about 11 1/2 minutes remaining.

West Virginia scored eight points off seven Texas Tech turnovers in the first half. The Mountaineers produced 18 points in the paint in the first 20 minutes and took a 37-34 lead to the break.

The Mountaineers got one of their signature steals leading to a transition basket on the game's first play as Ahmad took the ball away from Evans and Miles turned it into a layup.

But Texas Tech responded with a 9-2 run that was sparked by Evans and fellow guard Aaron Ross each hitting 3-pointers.

The Red Raiders went almost five minutes without a field goal midway through the first half, but they made up for it by hitting 6 of 8 free throws during that stretch. Texas Tech shot 52 percent from the field in the first half.

Ahmad led the Mountaineers with 13 points in the first half. Stevenson came off the bench to pace Texas Tech with 10 points in the first 20 minutes.

NOTES: West Virginia started Big 12 play with two straight road games for the fourth straight season. The Mountaineers began conference play 2-0 in each of the last three seasons before falling to 1-1 on Tuesday. ... West Virginia entered the game with a 9-1 lead in its series versus Texas Tech. The Red Raiders' only previous win in the series came in the opening round of the 2013 Big 12 Tournament. ... Texas Tech avoided starting Big 12 play 0-2 for the third time in four seasons. The Red Raiders opened conference play with a win over Texas in 2016.

Back to top