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  • JT Toppin And Chance McMillian Help No. 22 Texas Tech Beat The TCU Horned Frogs, 71-57

JT Toppin And Chance McMillian Help No. 22 Texas Tech Beat The TCU Horned Frogs, 71-57

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Basketball

JT Toppin recorded his seventh double-double of the season and Chance McMillian made three 3-pointers for the third straight game to help lead No. 22 Texas Tech to a 71-57 win over TCU on Wednesday at United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders (16-4, 7-2 Big 12) extended a five-game winning streak and matched the program's best Big 12 start through nine games after going making 10 3-pointers and limiting the Horned Frogs (10-10, 3-6 Big 12) to 35.1 percent shooting. Tech played the game without Darrion Williams (lower body injury) who had started every game this season and was averaging 14.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists. Tech finished the night with 16 assists on 23 makes and scored 28 points in the paint.

"That's a really physical TCU team," Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. "They rebound and scrap. I thought we weren't matching their physicality early but as the game went on, I loved our team's defensive fight and aggressiveness. We got it going offensively. We missed Darrion Williams and it took us a little while to get in a rhythm and flow, but Kerwin Walton was awesome and gave us a lift. It was a good team win from a competitive defensive standpoint."

Toppin led the Red Raiders with 18 points and 14 rebounds, finishing the game 6-of-6 at the free-throw line and also adding a season-high three assists to his stat line. It was his seventh double-double of the season and the 19th of his career. McMillian scored 16 points in the 10th game this season where he's made three or more 3s and also added three assists. Elijah Hawkins led Tech with five assists and joined Toppin and McMillian in double figures with 13 points by making two 3-pointers and going 5-of-6 at the free-throw line. Kerwin Walton added seven points with two 3-pointers and matched a career-high with four assists while not having a single turnover and Federiko Federiko provided six rebounds with four coming on the offensive end as a starter in place of Williams.

Tech finished the game shooting 23-for-49 (46.9 percent) from the field, 10-for-31 (32.3 percent) on 3-pointers and was 15-of-21 (71.4 percent) at the free throw line. Christian Anderson led the reserves with eight points while Kevin Overton added seven points and five rebounds in the win.

Tech led throughout the first half and went into halftime with a three-point lead but saw the Horned Frogs take a 39-38 lead three minutes into the second half after a Brendan Wenzel 3-pointer. The Red Raiders had the answer though, going on a 7-0 run in response with Toppin starting the run with a tough inside shot, an Overton 3-pointer and then Toppin knocking down two free throws to take a 45-39 lead. TCU would get back to within three points but a trio of 3-pointers from Hawkins, McMillian and Walton had the Red Raiders up 54-46 midway through the half. The Horned Frogs would not get any closer than eight points the remainder of the game that finished in a 14-point margin.   

Texas Tech took a 32-29 lead into halftime after shooting 50.0 percent from the field despite going just 4-for-16 on 3-pointers. Toppin led the Red Raiders with 10 points and added four rebounds, while Overton had a team-high five rebounds and also had four points. Hawkins and Anderson had four points each and McMillian went into the break with three points. Toppin opened scoring with a basket on Tech's opening possession and a McMillian 3-pointer gave the Red Raiders a 21-17 lead midway through the half. Walton drilled another 3 for a 26-19 lead and a floater from Overton pushed the lead to 32-27. Tech went into the break with a n 18-14 scoring advantage in the paint and with nine assists on 13 makes – led by Hawkins who had four assists.

The 7-2 record in Big 12 play matches the 2005 season for the best start to a Big 12 season in program history and comes with the Red Raiders having won four straight games by double-figure margins. Tech improved to 11-2 at home with the win and will now play at No. 6 Houston at 5 p.m. on Saturday at the Fertitta Center before returning to Lubbock to host Baylor next Tuesday at United Supermarkets Arena.