KANSAS CITY, Mo. - No. 20 BYU men’s basketball fell 81-67 to No. 25 Texas Tech in the quarterfinal round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship at the T-Mobile Center on Thursday afternoon.
Poor shooting doomed the Cougars as they connected on just seven of 35 3-point attempts while shooting 37.3 percent overall from the floor. The Red Raiders also outrebounded BYU 42-34 and won the second chance point battle 16-7.
A 23-7 first half stretch by Texas Tech proved too much to overcome as BYU stared down a 37-15 deficit with just under five minutes to go in the opening half. Despite trailing by 19 at the break, the Cougars rallied back to within seven at 62-55 after a 15-0 run that included three 3-point makes and four forced turnovers.
Despite the furious rally, two straight Red Raider 3-pointers pushed the deficit back to 13 and ended up sealing the outcome with under four minutes to go.
Jaxson Robinson led the way with 18 points and five rebounds for the Cougars, including four 3-point makes off the bench. Reserve Richie Saunders also pitched in 13 points along with six boards and two triples. Spencer Johnson was the only other Cougar to rack up a 3-point make in addition to his team-high seven rebounds.
Fousseyni Traore added 13 points on efficient 6-of-8 shooting. Despite just two points, Dallin Hall recorded seven assists.
BYU’s bench accounted for 43 of the 67 points.
First Half
Two 3-pointers from Texas Tech and a 1-of-5 start hampered BYU in the opening minutes as the Red Raiders jumped out to a 12-2 lead. Aly Khalifa connected on a post-up turnaround off the glass to put the Cougars on the board.
Following a timeout with 15:55 remaining, a 3-pointer from Robinson sparked some offensive life. Pesky perimeter defense then forced a Texas Tech giveaway before Saunders knocked down a triple from the top of the key to make it 14-8.
Robinson ended an over-three-minute scoring drought on a long range trey to cut the deficit to 25-14.
Outmuscling on the glass and securing second-chance points then keyed a 12-1 Red Raider run, further ballooning the deficit to 37-15 with 4:58 remaining. Over the stretch, Texas Tech hit 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Johnson, Robinson and Hall each scored to help keep pace as the teams entered the locker room with the score at 42-23. BYU missed its final eight 3-point attempts and shot just 3-of-18 from deep and 7-of-33 overall in the opening half. Texas Tech also outmatched BYU on the boards 26-17.
Second Half
Johnson quickly ended the 3-point scarcity with a triple on the first possession of the second half to bring BYU within 16. Traore then connected on a pair of buckets in the paint to bring the score to 46-30.
The margin would then extend back to 20 as Texas Tech’s Pop Isaacs cashed in on a second-chance layup followed by a pair of made free throws.
The teams traded buckets over the next five minutes as Texas Tech maintained a 62-40 lead with 11:00 minutes remaining.
Saunders jump-started a 15-0 Cougar run over the course of the next six minutes. The sophomore’s triple on the left side was followed by a steal by Traore, leading to a fast break drive and lay-in from Johnson to make it 62-45. Robinson then hit a 3-pointer off a transition dime from Hall. BYU forced a backcourt violation to set up Traore for two before Hall’s steal led to another 3-point make for Robinson, his fourth of the day.
Fouled in the backcourt, Saunders converted both free throws to make it 62-55 with 5:04 to go and put the BYU faithful on their feet, but Texas Tech immediately responded, drilling back-to-back threes to extend the lead to 68-55 with 3:56 remaining.
The punchback proved too much to overcome as the Red Raiders went on to win 81-67.
Up Next
BYU will await its seeding placement in the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday this upcoming Sunday, March 17 at 4 p.m. MT on CBS.