No. 15 Texas Tech outduels No. 11 BYU to hand Cougars first Big 12 loss
J.T. Toppin delivered a 27-point, 12-rebound performance, Christian Anderson added 22 points and seven assists and No. 15 Texas Tech pulled away for an 84-71 victory over No. 11 BYU on Saturday night in Lubbock, Texas.
The Red Raiders (14-4, 4-1 Big 12) improved to 10-0 at home. Toppin emerged as the star, scoring 17 points in the second half and notching his seventh straight double-double and his 12th of the season. LeJuan Watts joined the 20-point club with 20 points and eight rebounds, and Jaylen Petty had 10 points.
The Cougars (16-2, 4-1) dropped their first conference game. Robert Wright III exploded for a game-high 28 points, including 22 in the second half, and Richie Saunders added 18 points. Standout freshman AJ Dybantsa finished with 13 points -- continuing his streak of reaching double figures in every game -- but he was limited to two points in the second half.
It was a wild second half with both teams going on big runs.
BYU erased a five-point deficit with a 16-2 run, taking a 61-52 lead with 9:26 left. Wright scored eight points during the spurt and was credited with an assist on a three by Saunders to cap the run.
However, Tech answered with a 22-4 run. The Red Raiders jumped in front 66-65 when Toppin banked in a 3-pointer with 5:29 left and then got some separation with a couple more threes from Watts and Anderson to extend their lead to 72-65 with less than four minutes left. Anderson closed the stretch with a pair of free throws to make it 74-65 with 2:39 left.
BYU didn't threaten after that as Texas Tech cushioned its lead by making eight free throws in the final two-plus minutes. The Red Raiders had an advantage from 3-point range, making 11 of 29 (37.9%) compared to the Cougars' 5-of-22 perimeter performance (22.7%).