The BIG Review: Singletary too much for NSU
Box Score •
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Audio: Knight frustrated with first half
Texas Tech (4-0) got off to a sluggish start on Thursday, trailing
Northwestern State (1-1) for most of the first half before kicking the offense
into high gear en route to a 95-74 victory.
The Red Raiders trailed 27-28 at the under 8:00 timeout of the opening frame
thanks in part to a bevy of missed free throws and the Demons' hot stroke from
beyond the arc. The momentum soon began to swing towards the home team, though,
and Pat Knight's squad held a 37-34 advantage at the under 4:00 timeout.
They would never relinquish that lead. The margin was eight at halftime, and
afterward ballooned to 24 before Texas Tech began to ease up with 7:45 left to
go.
Five Red Raiders scored in double figures, led by Mike Singletary's 25 (on
8-of-11 shooting). D'walyn Roberts and Darko Cohadarevic each scored 11,
while Brad Reese and David Tairu followed with 10 a piece.
The Big Number (2)
Texas Tech was 2-for-7 from three point land, another poor result from the arc;
on the season, the Red Raiders are hitting just 28-percent of their three point
attempts. I'm not a fan of the three pointer, so I'm somewhat satisfied to see
Knight's crew get their points the way nature intended, by working hard for the
best shot and making their opponents pay at the stripe. Texas Tech scored 52 of
their 94 points in the paint, was 31-for-55 (.056) from inside the arc, and made
almost as many free throws (26) as baskets (33).
Star of the Game
Darko Cohadarevic got off to a very quick start, scoring an early bucket,
registering an assist and setting two nice screens -- all before the 15:00 mark
of the first half. One of those screens benefited Mike Singletary, and from
that point on the Humble, Texas native controlled this game on both ends of the
court. He shot 8-for-11 from the field and 9-for-9 from the arc, finishing with
an impressive line on the box score: 25 points, five rebounds, four assists,
three steals and two fouls.
More importantly, Singletary clearly provided a spark during a sluggish first
half with his play. His three dunks fired up his team, the crowd and even his
head coach.
Unsung Hero
I was really struck by how well
Theron Jenkins played. This cat can rebound,
pass, dribble and he's got to be accounted for around the rack. He finished the
night with seven points, two boards and four steals, and gave the Red Raiders
their first, short-lived lead (27-25) at the 8:24 mark of the first half with a
nice tip-in. I wrote in my notes that he may be the first Texas Tech player in a
while to get a tomahawk slam, though it didn't happen tonight. It will happen
for someone on this team and Jenkins is as good a candidate as anyone.
Tough Day at the Office
John Roberson played a decent floor game (six assists, one turnover), and was a
menace defensively, but was for the most part a bust on the offensive end. He
scored four points on 2-of-9 shooting and was 0-for-3 from the arc; he didn't
attempt a free throw. He's not always going to score and it's nice to know that
this team can still pile up the points when he's off.
Break It Out
Northwestern State wanted to run, they got Texas Tech to run and, like we talked
about before the game, the Red Raiders' defense made the Demons pay. Knight's
team didn't obviously try to control the pace of the game, but that is exactly
what they did. They ran with Northwestern State and then took it to the next
level.
Midway through the second half, the Demons were done and looked like they were
playing behind because they were. When is the last time before this season that
Texas Tech out-athleted an opponent? Not only did the home team have noticeably
better athletes than their opponent, but they were more skilled as well.
Layups
• Texas Tech used the same starting lineup for the fourth-straight game: Darko Cohadarevic, John Roberson, D'walyn Roberts, Mike Singletary and David
Tairu.
• The Red Raiders scored 16 fast break points compared to the Demons' two.
• For Northwestern State, Dominic Knight led the way with 19 points on 6-of-9
shooting, four rebounds and three assists.
• D'walyn Roberts registered a double-double, scoring 11 points and hauling down
11 rebounds.
• The Red Raiders held the edge in rebounding (37 to 29) and second-chance
points (17 to 11).
• Brad Reese had two impressive, crowd-pleasing blocks against the Demons and
also scored his first three-pointer (1-of-9 on the season).
• During the two teams only previous meeting, during the 2007-08 season, Texas
Tech defeated Northwestern State 95-71.
Dunk-O-Meter
Against Northwestern State
Mike Singletary - 3
David Tairu - 1
Season Totals
D'walyn Roberts - 5
Mike Singletary - 3
Theron Jenkins - 2
Mike Davis - 1
Nick Okorie - 1
David Tairu - 1
Up Next: Texas Tech vs. Lamar (2-1) - Saturday, November
21 at 6 p.m. CT