Propelled by a monster stretch in the first half of play, Texas Tech jumped on Omaha early and eventually downed the Mavericks 87-58, Wednesday night at the United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock. The Red Raiders enjoyed a comfortable win in their first home game in almost three weeks, after traveling to the Bahamas for Battle 4 Atlantis and then to Butler a week ago.

Having allowed over 100 points and being heavily outrebounded in the last outing against Butler, Tech’s physicality and hard-nosed defense showed up once again. The Mavericks were held to a mediocre 6-22 from beyond the arc. Despite being fairly similar in stature, the Red Raiders muscled their way to a 37-27 advantage on the glass.

Trailing 8-5 in the opening minutes of the contest, Tech turned the tide in a major way, outsourcing Omaha 37-14 through the duration of the half to take a 20-point lead into the break. This included a stretch where the Red Raiders went on a 17-4 run, highlighted by a fiery night from downtown by Kerwin Walton.

The senior from Hopkins, Minnesota has seen his role and minutes increase over the last several games, due in part to his improved defense. Though it was his defense that has led to Walton’s uptick in minutes, his 4-4 first half from the three-point line certainly did not go unnoticed against the Mavericks.

A sluggish start to the second half gave way to a 14-5 run that reinvigorated the Red Raiders’ lead. Walton’s hot hand rolled over into the latter minutes of the game, with the run including two more makes from beyond the arc for the senior.

Walton finished with a career-high 22 points on 8-9 shooting from the field, including 6-7 from deep. Joe Toussaint continued his stretch of consistency, adding 20 points going 7-8 from the free throw line and 6-9 from the field. Pop Isaacs rounded out Tech’s three double-digit scorers, chipping in 11 points.

The Red Raiders will be back in action Dec. 12 against Oral Roberts. Tip off of the “Kevin Obanor Bowl” is set for 7:00 p.m.