A rough start paved the way for a ridiculous resurgence as No. 25 Texas Tech overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to take down No. 20 BYU , 85-78, at the United Supermarkets Arena Saturday evening. The Red Raiders were able to rebound from a midweek loss to Houston to move their Big 12 record to 4-1 in the conference slate.
Pop Isaacs was unhinged in the second half, erupting for 23 points in the final 20, finishing with a new career high of 32 points. Isaacs flipped the script on the Cougars, shooting 6-9 from beyond the three point arc, with five of those dropping in the second half.
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It took 33 minutes for Tech to taste the lead for the first time against the Cougars, as Warren Wasington’s layup with seven minutes remaining gave Tech a 64-62 tally. A pair of 7-0 runs in the second half fueled Tech’s comeback. Paired with BYU going cold from deep, the Red Raiders came out of the break revitalized and proceeded to outscore the Cougars 53-30 to complete the resounding comeback.
The Red Raiders only led Saturday’s contest for six minutes of game time and were able to close out the game on eight-straight made free throws. Though Tech did not score a basket in the final two minutes, its effectiveness at the charity stripe shone through once again, as the Red Raiders finished 17-18 from the line.
A 21-point outing from BYU big man Aly Khalifa was not enough for BYU– the Cougars shot 3-19 from downtown out of intermission– which ultimately led to their downfall. The performance was a season-high for the Egyptian, 15 of those after the break to give BYU a fighting chance down the stretch.
Washington went toe-to-toe with Khalifa– the Escondido, California native chipped in 19 points on 8-12 shooting for the Red Raiders. A night of new season-highs did not escape Washington, with a new mark being set in his point tally and 37 minutes played.
BYU dominated possession and the glass throughout the contest, eventually winning the rebounding battle 42-32, with 16 of those being snagged off the offensive glass. With the volume of three-point shots being hoisted, the opportunities for long rebounds gave BYU chance after chance on offense.
Like how Tech came out of the break firing away, the same was said for BYU, which hopped out to a 10-0 lead out of the gates. Deficiencies in personnel made the Cougars a matchup nightmare for Tech, with BYU finding open looks often threw off-ball screens that the Red Raiders could not solve.
In his first start of the season for the injured Noah Waterman, Richie Saunders scored 13 first half points to lead the Cougars to their big lead. As the game progressed, Tech was able to uncover the key to defending the Cougars, which forced the pass-oriented BYU to put the ball on the floor, turning it over 12 times in the process.
Chance McMillian was the third Red Raider to finish in double-figures, adding in 14 points as he continues to be a reliable spark off the bench.
Tech will become the beneficiary of a “bye week” on tab. The Red Raiders will be out of action for a week until they head to Norman to take on Oklahoma next Saturday. Tip off against the Sooners from the Lloyd Noble Center is slated for 1:00 p.m.
