No. 16 Texas Tech is coming off a milestone victory and now looks to stretch its nonconference home winning streak to 50 games when it faces Stonehill College on Saturday afternoon at Lubbock, Texas.
The Red Raiders (3-0) delivered an 84-78 win on Tuesday over No. 3 Illinois, the highest-ranked team Texas Tech has beaten at home in program history.
Texas Tech led by 20 at halftime and later turned away a frantic rush by the Fighting Illini.
“This place will not let us lose,” Red Raiders coach Grant McCasland said of the home crowd. “What a great team win in an amazing environment.”
McCasland is expecting a lot of big battles this season in the rugged Big 12. The Red Raiders also have high aspirations after losing in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament to eventual champion Florida two seasons ago and falling in last season’s second round.
The expectations are big despite star big man J.T. Toppin still being out with an ACL tear in his right knee sustained nearly nine months ago.
“I told our guys, we didn’t come for this, we came for more than this,” McCasland said. “This is a great step for us. We didn’t play great in the second half (against Illinois) and you have to give them credit. We’ve got a lot of tough games on our schedule and I think they give you the benefit of being prepared for conference when you play in the best conference in basketball.
“We want to keep playing games like this. It’s fun. There’s nothing like playing a game like this at home. We’ve got the right guys in character and competitiveness.”
Cruz Davis scored a team-best 20 points against Illinois and is averaging a team-leading 16.7 per game. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn had 15 points to match his season average and Donovan Atwell registered 13 points and five steals.
A major boost came from Jamichael Stillwell, who played in his first game since he was granted a temporary restraining order by a Lubbock judge that made him eligible to play. Stillwell had 11 points and 13 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.
“He just threw his body in there and came up with huge rebounds,” McCasland said of the fifth-year player. “It’s remarkable the difference he makes.”
Stonehill (1-2) is playing its third straight road contest after losing by 20 points to both Fordham and Columbia.
In Monday’s 75-55 loss at Columbia, the Skyhawks led 36-34 at halftime after a 3-pointer by Ewan Steele as time expired. But Stonehill made just 6 of 24 shots in the second half while being outscored 41-19.
Felipe Patino was 6-of-10 shooting and made three 3-pointers while leading the Skyhawks with 15 points. He was the lone Stonehill player to score in double digits.
Patino is tied with Jack Medalie for the team scoring lead at 11 points per game. Anquan Boldin Jr. averages 9.3 points on 10-of-13 shooting.
Boldin is the son of the former NFL receiver by the same name. The elder Boldin was a three-time Pro Bowl selection and caught 1,076 passes from 2003-16.
Stonehill coach Chris Kraus, in his 14th season, ranks second in school history with 176 victories. Kraus said there was a lot of work to do after the season-opening 84-56 victory over Division III Curry College on Nov. 2.
“Can we get better tomorrow? Can we work on what we need to?” Kraus said. “This is a long process and this is a long journey.”
–Field Level Media
