LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — De’vion Harmon scored 25 points and Kevin Obanor added 19 as Texas Tech defeated its second ranked opponent in three days, upending No. 6 Texas 74-67 on Monday night.
Fardaws Aimaq had a season-high 12 points for the Red Raiders, who led by 13 in the second half before fending off the Longhorns down the stretch.
Texas Tech (14-12, 3-10 Big 12) also topped No. 12 Kansas State on Saturday.
“Obviously, I’m extremely excited for these guys,” Red Raiders coach Mark Adams said. “It was a great team effort. That is a good basketball team that we beat. Texas plays hard. We matched their intensity and played, I thought, 40 minutes of great basketball.”
Texas (20-6, 9-4) tied the game at 64 on a 3-pointer by Dylan Disu, but Tech responded by scoring the next six points as Obanor had two dunks and Aimaq converted a tip-in. Harmon added a driving basket with 35.1 seconds remaining, and the Red Raiders held on.
“Give them credit,” Texas interim coach Rodney Terry said. “They made shots. Our guys had great effort. We just didn’t do enough to put ourselves in position to win. In our league, anybody can beat anybody.”
Marcus Carr led the Longhorns with 23 points, and Disu scored 11.
“We’re a team that has been through a lot of adversity this season,” Obanor said. “It’s like being in a boxing match, and you get beat up, but it speaks to your character when you get back up, have a sense of urgency and refuse to give up.”
Texas Tech scored on seven consecutive possessions spanning halftime, taking a 51-38 lead. Texas used a 12-4 spurt to get within 59-54, and a 3 by Tyrese Hunter trimmed it to 64-61 before Disu’s tying shot.
Harmon had 21 points in the first half and scored his team’s final seven as the Red Raiders took a 44-35 lead at the break. Both teams connected on more than 45% of their shots. Tech went 7 of 12 from 3-point range, and Texas countered by shooting 6 for 11 from beyond the arc.
After the Longhorns pulled to 37-35 on Carr’s 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining in the half, Harmon answered with a short jumper in the lane, two free throws and a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded.
Texas’ shooting cooled in the second half as the Longhorns connected on 10 of 30 shots overall and went 5 of 16 from 3-point range. Texas Tech tightened its defense after halftime, forcing the Longhorns to work on every possession.
“They play well here,” Terry said. “Texas Tech has good personnel and a coach who does a great job getting them in position.”
BIG PICTURE
Texas Tech has won 10 of the past 12 meetings and holds a 37-29 edge in Lubbock. … The Red Raiders have beaten three ranked Big 12 opponents at home this season, including Iowa State in overtime.
UP NEXT
Texas hosts Oklahoma on Saturday.
Texas Tech visits West Virginia on Saturday.
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