Later, Sooners - Red Raiders dominate second half to rally past Sooners

Texas Tech overcame a sluggish offensive first half Saturday night to defeat the Oklahoma Sooners 75-65 in Lubbock.

After recording their third lowest first-half point total this season, the Red Raiders (14-5, 2-3 Big 12) used a second half surge to protect their home court and earn a conference victory.

The defeat kept the Sooners (11-8, 2-3 Big 12) winless on the road in conference play, and dropped them to ninth place in the Big 12 standings.

Oklahoma led 31-23 at halftime, limiting the Red Raiders to just 3 made field goals over the final 12:36 of the first half. But Tech would respond.

After going 0 for 4 on three point attempts in the first half, the Raiders shot a scorching 77 percent (7 of 9) during a 52 point second half onslaught.

Tech pulled ahead in the final three minutes, ending the game on a decisive 10-1 run.

With their leading scorer Willie Warren sidelined with an ankle injury, Oklahoma relied on Tommy Mason-Griffin to shoulder the scoring load. The freshman point guard responded by pouring in 26 points.

The Red Raiders used a 12-0 run – highlighted by Mike Singletary’s consecutive 3 point baskets -- early in the second half to erase an 11 point deficit and take the lead, 35-34.

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Singletary led Tech with 24 points and 10 rebounds to record his fourth double-double this season. He finished 3-3 from behind the arc.

Trailing in second half, Mason-Griffin kept the Sooners close. Like Singletary earlier, the Sooner guard hit consecutive three-pointers to pull the Sooners even at 62, but the short-handed Sooners could not establish any consistency from its supporting cast.

Tony Crocker added a double-double, chipping in 20 points while leading the Sooners with 13 rebounds, but Freshman Keith “Tiny” Gallon got into foul trouble and played sparingly. Gallon contributed 5 points and 4 rebounds before fouling out in only 16 minutes of action.

Tech scored 24 points off of 16 Oklahoma turnovers. Oklahoma managed just seven points on eight Tech turnovers and shot 36.2 percent from the field (21 of 58).

Both teams return to action Wednesday night. The Sooners will look rebound at home against Iowa State in Norman while Texas Tech will travel to Austin to take on Texas. Both tip offs are set for 8 PM.

By Michael Roark
Big12-fans.com Oklahoma Sooners Correspondent

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