Texas Tech rolls
Jarrett Culver scored 19 points, first-time starter Deshawn Coprew had 13 points and 10 rebounds and No. 11 Texas Tech pulled away from Texas-Rio Grande Valley for a 71-46 victory Friday in the Red Raiders’ final tuneup before Big 12 Conference play.
NO. 11 TEXAS TECH 71, TEXAS-RIO GRANDE VALLEY 46
LUBBOCK, Texas — Jarrett Culver scored 19 points, firsttime starter Deshawn Coprew had 13 points and 10 rebounds and No. 11 Texas Tech pulled away from Texas-Rio Grande Valley for a 71-46 victory Friday night in the Red Raiders’ final tuneup before Big 12 Conference play.
Culver and the Red Raiders cranked up their signature defense in the second half, turning a close game into a rout with 12 minutes to go as Texas Tech bounced back from its first loss of the season, 69-58 to top-ranked Duke in New York eight days earlier.
Terry Winn led the Vaqueros (8-7) with 17 points.
Texas Tech (11-1) led 38-31 at halftime but didn’t play the same level of defense that has been a staple this season. Rio Grande Valley shot 46 percent (12 of 26) before halftime against the Red Raiders, who came in leading the country in field-goal defense at 33 percent.
Things changed early in the second half. The Vaqueros missed 11 of their first 12 shots in the period, which allowed Tech to extend the lead.
“They took it up a notch,” Rio Grande Valley Coach Lew Hill said. “When you can’t score against a good team, eventually they’re going to start scoring.”
NO. 10 VIRGINIA TECH 85, MD.-EASTERN SHORE 40
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Ahmed Hill scored 20 points and No. 10 Virginia Tech shot nearly 66 percent as it drubbed Maryland-Eastern Shore, the Hokies’ sixth consecutive victory.
Kerry Blackshear Jr. added 15 points and Wabissa Bede scored 14 for the Hokies (11-1), who continued their best start to a season in 100 years.
The Hawks (1-13) were led by Dontae Caldwell with 10 points as they lost their eighth in a row and 30th consecutive game on the road.
The Hokies played without scoring leader Nickeil Alexander-Walker (18.5 points per game) because of a sprained right ankle.
NO. 7 GONZAGA 96, NORTH ALABAMA 51
SPOKANE, Wash. — Zach Norvell Jr. scored 20 points and No. 7 Gonzaga drubbed North Alabama, the Bulldogs’ 13th consecutive victory at home.
Brandon Clarke had 16 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 steals for Gonzaga (12-2), which was ranked No. 1 for two weeks earlier this season. Rui Hachimura added 14 points, Josh Perkins scored 13 and Corey Kispert had 10.
Christian Agnew scored 18 for North Alabama (3-11), which is in its first year of Division I basketball.
The Bulldogs went ahead 29-1 in the first seven minutes, making 9 of their first 12 shots.
NO. 18 MARQUETTE 84, SOUTHERN 41
MILWAUKEE — Markus Howard scored 23 of his 26 points in a hot-shooting first half, and No. 18 Marquette overpowered Southern.
Howard was 8 for 8 from the field in the opening half, including 5 of 5 from the three-point arc. He scored all of Marquette’s points during a 15-2 run midway through the first, capping the stretch with back-to-back threes for a 35-14 lead with 7:46 left.
The first three came after defender Brendon Brooks slipped while Howard took a jab-step to free himself for the jumper.
The Golden Eagles (11-2) won their eighth consecutive game, their longest streak since 2015-16.
NO. 20 N.C. STATE 97, LOYOLA (MD.) 64
RALEIGH, N.C. — Torin Dorn scored 17 points and No. 20 North Carolina State wrapped up its nonconference schedule by beating Loyola (Maryland).
Freshman Jericole Hellems matched his season high with 16 points for the Wolfpack (12-1) in the team’s first game with an AP Top 25 ranking in nearly six years. N.C. State shot 63 percent and used a 13-0 run spanning halftime to stretch out the lead, then maintained a comfortable margin on the way to a sixth consecutive victory.
Second-year Coach Kevin Keatts has the Wolfpack off to the program’s best start since going 12-1 during the 200506 season.
Andrew Kostecka scored 27 points for the Greyhounds (4-9).
SEC MEN LSU 81, LA.-MONROE 69
BATON ROUGE — Naz Reid had 19 points and 12 rebounds as LSU defeated Louisiana-Monroe.
Reid, who was 7-of-10 shooting from the field, registered his first double-double of the season and his 12 rebounds were a season-high. He also had a season-best four blocked shots.
Four other players scored in double figures for the Tigers (10-3). Skylar Mays had 14 points, while Emmitt Williams came off the bench to score 12 points. Tremont Waters had a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists. Ja’vonte Smart added 10 points.
Daishon Smith was the leading scorer for La.-Monroe (7-5) with 22 points. Michael Ertel matched his season-high with 21 points.