Texas Tech outgunned, outmanned in 75-72 decision to Cincinnati
A mid-range jumper from Simas Lukosius with 21 seconds was the difference as Texas Tech fell to Cincinnati, 75-72, Saturday at the United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock. Pop Isaacs missed the potential go-ahead floater with nine ticks on the clock after having made the Red Raiders’ lone three-ball of the second half to give Tech a brief 72-71 advantage before Lukosius’ shot.
The Red Raiders have now lost back-to-back games for the first time all season as they move to 5-3 in Big 12 play.
Tech was depleted throughout the contest which forced head coach Grant McCasland to dive further into the bench than he normally does. The Red Raiders were without reserve guard Lamar Washington due to an illness and for a significant stretch of Saturday’s game also lacked 7-footer Warren Washington from a combination of foul trouble and fatigue.
Needing answers from another option on the squad, it was forward Robert Jennings who stepped up, boosting Tech down the stretch of the first half with 10 points at the break. Jennings added two more buckets in the second stanza before Washington’s return, finishing with a career high of 14 points.
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What was anticipated heading into Saturday’s action was a physical brawl as has become the normality night after night in the Big 12. The Bearcats had only lost the rebounding differential in two games this season, and the emphasis behind crashing the boards continued against Tech. Though by a slimmer margin than expected, 39-35, given the Red Raiders size disadvantage, Cincinnati snagged 10 offensive boards in the second half and at critical times.
“Going into this game and the game plan, I felt like if we were going to come up with a win, we were gonna have to have a pretty lopsided margin on the boards,” Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller admitted after the game. “We didn’t have as much of a lopsided margin as I thought we would have had to win tonight. There was some great possessions on the offensive boards for us I was proud of. There was some defensive rebounding possessions there late in the game, we needed to come up for the ball, we just didn’t. Give (Tech) credit for making plays, I didn’t like that we gave up 16 (offensive rebounds). We were playing a bit smaller, if we did play big we have a significant advantage on the board. But we certainly identify as a rebounding team.”
The physicality of the game not only impacted the rebounding aspect but it certainly proved to be a challenge for Tech to try and overcome on the offensive end. Isaacs led the Red Raiders with 22 points, albeit nine of those coming at the free throw line to go along with a 5-19 shooting performance. Tech as a whole only shot 15 three-pointers, its lowest since the conference home opener against Oklahoma State, and overall struggled to find rhythm at times.
“That was a big emphasis for us from the coaching staff,” Lukosius said in the postgame press conference alongside his head coach. “I feel like they prepared us really well in practice, we did specific drills to do that and really just telling us we always try to execute to the best of our ability. Today it kind of worked out pretty well for us. Kerwin Walton went 2-for-3 (from three), but if he only gets off three shots that’s a success for us.”
Though Tech has been able to get around poor shooting nights, some even worse than tonight’s 40-33-79 split, what ultimately decided the Red Raiders’ fate was the inability to find stops late game. The Bearcats made six of their last seven field goal attempts as the teams traded baskets in crunch time.
Tech will look to rebound and avoid a third-consecutive loss when it travels to Waco to take on Baylor. Tip off from the Bears’ newly-christened Foster Pavilion is set for 8:00 p.m.