No. 12 Texas Tech hangs on, ends road dominance by No. 6 Houston
Donovan Atwell knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers in a 34-second span, then went 3 of 4 from the free-throw line in the final 22 seconds to lift No. 12 Texas Tech to a 90-86 victory against No. 6 Houston on Saturday at Lubbock, Texas.
The Red Raiders snapped the Cougars' program record 16-game road winning streak and spoiled a record-setting performance by Houston freshman Kingston Flemmings.
J.T. Toppin led Texas Tech (16-4, 6-1 Big 12) to its second home win against a ranked foe in an eight-day span with 31 points and 12 rebounds. Atwell and Jaylin Petty scored 18 apiece and combined to go 9 of 14 from 3-point range, while Christian Anderson scored 12 points with nine assists.
It was just enough to offset Flemmings' 42 points, the most ever for a Cougars freshman. Houston (17-2, 5-1 Big 12) allowed a season-high 12 3-pointers, while allowing 90 points in regulation for the first time since 2018.
After a red-hot first half, which ended with the Red Raiders in front 55-49, Texas Tech missed its first seven 3-point tries of the second half. That allowed Houston to lead by as many as four points with 10:51 remaining.
Atwell, who drained 3 of his 3-pointers in the first half, ended the drought from long distance with 5:55 left in the game on pass from Toppin to put Texas Tech back in front 78-77.
After Chae McCarty missed from deep for Houston, Atwell corralled the rebound and got the ball back again from Toppin and buried another 3-pointer with 5:21 left for an 81-77 cushion.
Houston crept back within two points twice down the stretch, the last time when Flemmings scored on a drive with 15 seconds to go. But Atwell nudged the lead back to 90-86 with a pair of free throws and the Cougars missed three 3-point attempts in the last 8 seconds.
Down at the break after allowing the most points ever in a half under Sampson, Houston stormed back in the early stages of the second half with a 12-4 run and 21 points in the initial 8:44. Flemmings scored 11 of those and the Cougars' defense revved up to force the Red Raiders into 5-of-16 shooting in the same span.
Texas Tech shot just 34.5% (10 of 29) in the second half and 2 of 10 from 3-point range.
In the first half, the Red Raiders went 10 of 19 from 3-point range paced by Petty (4 of 5) and Atwell (3 of 4). The Cougars also struggled to contain Toppin, who scored 17 points before halftime and snatched seven rebounds.