Texas Tech puts away Northern Colorado with hot shooting

Darrion Williams scored 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, and Texas Tech cruised to an 89-64 win over Northern Colorado on Friday night in Lubbock, Texas.

Kevin Overton contributed 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting for Texas Tech (6-1), which won its second straight game. JT Toppin registered a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds.

Quinn Denker scored 16 points off the bench to lead Northern Colorado (6-3). Isaiah Hawthorne and Langston Reynolds added 12 apiece.

Texas Tech shot 46.4 percent (26 of 56) from the field and 56.5 percent (13 of 23) from 3-point range. Northern Colorado shot 39.3 percent (24 of 61) overall and 26.1 percent (6 of 23) from beyond the arc.

The Red Raiders also helped their cause at the free-throw line, where they shot 24 of 26. Northern Colorado shot 10 of 16 from the charity stripe.

Texas Tech led by double digits throughout the second half and increased its advantage to a game-high 32 with 7:49 to play. Chance McMillian made a pair of free throws to give the Red Raiders a 75-43 lead.

Denker made four free throws in the final minute to bring the Bears within 25.

Texas Tech surged to a 50-29 lead at the half.

Marcell McCreary made a jump shot for Northern Colorado to cut the deficit to 33-26 with 5:36 remaining in the first half.

Texas Tech closed the half on a 17-3 run to seize a 21-point lead.

Overton and Williams made back-to-back 3-pointers to start the run. Toppin had a three-point play on a layup and a free throw during the run, and Overton made a jump shot at the buzzer to finish the scoring binge.

Texas Tech will have a break until Wednesday night when it hosts DePaul.

Northern Colorado also is off until Wednesday night. The Bears will return to their home court to play St. Thomas-Minnesota.

--Field Level Media