JT Toppin recorded a dominating double-double with a career-high 41 points and 15 rebounds and Darrion Williams scored a season-high 27 points to help lead No. 12 Texas Tech to a 111-106 double-overtime win over Arizona State on Wednesday at United Supermarkets Arena.
The Red Raiders (19-5, 10-3 Big 12) improved to 2-1 in overtime games this season after forcing the extra session on a putback from Chance McMillian in the final second of regulation and then double-overtime with Williams knocking down a jumper with 25 seconds remaining. Tech was clinging to a 107-106 lead after an ASU layup with 50 seconds remaining before pulling out the win by making 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch and Toppin having two steals. Arizona State (12-12, 3-10 Big 12) led 45-44 at halftime on a night where regulation ended tied at 90, overtime at 96 and the Red Raiders earning the win by outscoring the Sun Devils by a 15-10 margin in the second overtime.
"We weren't taking no for an answer," Toppin said. "We just wanted to win. We weren't going out like that at home."
McMillian finished the game 7-for-7 at the free-throw line and with 14 points, while Kerwin Walton scored 13 points and Christian Anderson added 10 points and five assists to give the Red Raiders five players in double figures. Walton, who did not score in the first half, came out on fire in the second where he scored 13 of Tech's first 15 points to start the second half. He finished the game 3-for-6 on 3-pointers in a game where Tech went 10-for-26 from beyond the arc. Elijah Hawkins led the Red Raiders with seven assists and also had six rebounds in a game where Tech had a 38-27 rebounding advantage. Toppin, who also had three steals and two blocks, finished regulation with 33 points and 13 rebounds on 13-for-18 shooting and would add eight points on 4-for-4 shooting in the 10 extra minutes that takes Tech to 13-2 at home this season.
"JT Toppin going right to the basket was what I thought was 1A in what we wanted to do," Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. "I thought he was tremendous. He's been working and is finally healthy and able to practice. I've been so impressed by his resilience and fight to get better. You can tell he's just scratching what he's capable of. I say that with a lot of confidence."
Toppin's 41 points were the most by any Big 12 player this season and came with him going 17-for-22 from the field while seven of his 15 rebounds were on the offensive end. The 17 made shots establishes a new Big 12 record for Tech and was one off the record in all games from Dub Malaise (1966) and Jim Reed (1954) who both made 18 shots in a game. His 41 points were also the most for a Red Raider since Jarrius Jackson had 41 points on 15 makes at Nebraska in 2006 and the most for a Texas Tech sophomore since Mike Singletary scored 43 points against Texas A&M in the 2009 Big 12 Tournament. Malaise owns the program record for points in a game with 50 against Texas in 1966. Toppin's 41 points ranks as the seventh most in the record book.
"When I get the ball I'm super confident," said Toppin, who now has 21 career double-doubles with nine this season and is leading the team with 16.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Toppin had his previous season-high was 26 against UCF in the Big 12 opener after he had 27 last season as a freshman at New Mexico against Toledo. The 41-point performance was the 11th time in his career going over 20 points and the eighth time this season. He also matched a career-high with three steals – two coming in the final minute of the second overtime.
Williams finished the game 10-for-18 from the field, 2-for-4 on 3-pointers and 5-for-6 at the free-throw line. His performance came on February 12, the same date a year ago when he scored a career-high 30 points by going 12-for-12 from the field in a win over Kansas. His final points against the Sun Devils came on a free throw to give Tech a 108-106 lead with 47 seconds remaining.
"I think we all just want to win at the end of the day," Williams said. "Toward the end of overtime, we got the stops we needed. Just had a will to win."
McMillian, who came up with the putback to send the game to overtime tied at 90, added two more free throws with 27 seconds remaining in the second overtime for a 110-106 lead. The Red Raiders finished the game 23-for-32 at the free-throw line, shot 39-for-68 (57.4 percent) from the field and owned a 50-40 scoring advantage in the paint. Arizona State never shied away from the challenge, shooting 40-for-72 (55.6 percent) from the field, 13-for-27 (48.1 percent) from 3-point range and going 13-for-16 at the free-throw line. ASU led 96-92 with just over a minute remaining in the first overtime before a layup by Toppin with 1:08 remaining, a defensive rebound from Walton and the jumper by Williams to force the second overtime.
"This is what makes this fun," McCasland said. "You play against the best teams and teams that have this kind of firepower and can you find a way to win. That's fun. I go into the locker room and timeouts saying this is what you do this for. I loved our team's fight to find a way. We have a lot of ways to win."
The 111 points are the most by a Red Raider team in Big 12 history and was only the second time over 100 in a Big 12 game ever – the only other time a 102-75 win over Texas A&M in 1998. The Red Raiders have now played in 20 double-overtime games in program history and are 9-11 in those games. The last double-overtime game in Lubbock was back on February 20, 1994 – a 128-125 double-overtime win over Texas.
"The atmosphere, as always, is the difference in these wins," McCasland said. "Just the energy in the building to get stops."
Arizona State took a 45-44 halftime lead after going 7-for-14 on 3-pointers and seeing the Red Raiders go 5-for-12. Tech had a 16-12 rebounding advantage and had scored 20 points in the paint. Toppin led the Red Raiders with 18 points and six rebounds going into the break while Williams had 13 points. Toppin was 8-for-10 from the field and Williams was 6-for-8 with one 3-pointer. Toppin made his final basket with a second remaining off an assist from Anderson who finished the first half with six points and two assists. The Red Raiders led by as many as nine points seven minutes into the game with McMillian hitting a 3-pointer to take it to 19-10. Anderson was 2-for-3 beyond the arc, hitting his second for a 33-25 lead before the Sun Devils made a charge. William hit his 3-pointer to cut ASU's lead to 45-42 before the buzzer-beater from Toppin made Tech 18-for-28 (64.3 percent) from the field. The Sun Devils were shooting 15-for-31 (48.4 percent) and were 8-of-9 at the free-throw line to take the one-point lead.
Texas Tech is now set for a two-game road trip at Oklahoma State and TCU before returning home to host West Virginia for Senior Day on Saturday, February 22. The Red Raiders play against the Cowboys at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Stillwater, Oklahoma, before taking on the Horned Frogs at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 18 in Fort Worth. Texas Tech and Arizona State will play one more time, with the Red Raiders traveling to Tempe for the regular-season finale on March 8.
