Game Links:
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: Amari Barrett! What a showing from a walk-on freshman who probably didn’t know that he’d have the opportunity to have the game he had yesterday. Barrett made 4 of 10 shots, 1 of 4 from deep, had 10 rebounds, 5 of them offensive, 2 assists, 3 steals and just 1 turnover.
The Motion:
- I mentioned in the preview that Stonehill was statistically one of the worst teams in the nation and that proved to be true. Just not a competitive game. HOWEVER, it was made more competitive because it appeared that head coach Grant McCasland sat Darrion Williams and Donovan Atwell as a rest day (they could have played) and as a result, Texas Tech still beat Stonehill by 50+ without 2 starters. That’s decently impressive.
- I could have gone with Dakari Spear as the player of the game, but I figured he might get more minutes than Barrett as the year goes on. Spear finished with 22 points on 6 of 9 from the floor, 4 of 6 from deep, 6 of 7 from the charity stripe, 6 boards, 2 steals and 3 turnovers.
- The worst thing that happened was that Bassa Bagayoko stepped on a Stonehill player shoe awkwardly and twisted his ankle. He was apparently in a boot afterwards, so hoping that it’s not terrible.
- It helps to have Jamichael Stillwell because it could have gotten pretty bad. Stillwell is a load offensively and went 6 for 8 with 13 points, and 12 boards. Just a double-double on a Saturday.
- Texas Tech dominated the boards, 59 to 24, including 19 offensive boards to just 8 for the Skyhawks.
- Also clearly a game where stonehill didn’t have much of a chance was 44 points in the paint for the Red Raiders and just 12 for Stonehill. Texas Tech also had 18 fastbreak points to just 4 for Stonehill.
- Dennis, Davis and Gibbs-Lawhorn all started along with Josiah Mosely and Stillwell. Dennis, Davis & Gibbs-Lawhorn all scored in double-figures and Davis continues to be a terrific scorer and passer, 12 points on just 9 shots as well as 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Moseley had foul trouble for a chunk of the day so not a ton of impact.
- Head coach Grant McCasland: “I told our team before the game in the locker room that our defensive intensity for 40 minutes needed to be what we hang our hat on today. We’ve had some great starts, but we haven’t finished games very well in the second half defensively. That’s a positive for us.”
- Advanced Stats: Spear +8.8; Barrett +7.6; Stillwell +4.9; Davis +4.6; Dennis +3.5; Gibbs-Lawhorn -2.7; Moseley -1.1
- Up next? Texas Tech hosts the LSU New Orleans Privateers on Wednesday, November 18th at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
Highlights