No. 9 Texas Tech survives late push by Baylor at Big 12 tourney

JT Toppin went for 26 points and 10 rebounds as No. 9 Texas Tech did just enough to hold on for a 76-74 win over Baylor in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference tournament on Thursday in Kansas City, Mo. The Red Raiders (25-7) missed their final 10 shots from the floor and 13 of their last 14, going the final 7:26 without a field goal. Texas Tech shot just 19.4 percent from the floor after halftime, leaving the door open for seventh-seeded Baylor (19-14). The Red Raiders led by 13 points at halftime and by 15 just over two minutes into the second half. Baylor rallied and made it a three-point game on Robert Wright's driving layup with 26.5 seconds left. A pair of free throws by Texas Tech's Kevin Overton with 21 seconds remaining pushed the margin back to five. But the Bears answered with a 3-pointer from Nunn to make it 74-72. Elijah Hawkins hit a pair of free throws to push it back to a four-point game before Wright's lay-up again trimmed the lead to two. Christian Anderson then left the door open for Baylor when he missed two free throws with 5.8 seconds, but VJ Edgecombe's running 3-pointer at the buzzer clanged off the rim and away. Darrion Williams added 14 points, all in the first half, and Hawkins and Kerwin Walton had 12 points apiece for the Red Raiders. Texas Tech advances to play third-seeded Arizona in Friday's semifinals. Baylor is expected to be chosen as an at-large team for next week's NCAA Tournament. Norchad Omier led all scorers with 29 points and 15 rebounds for the Bears (19-14). Edgecombe added 11 points and Jayden Nunn had 10. The Red Raiders owned the first half, going up 47-32 when Williams canned a hook shot with 2:56 remaining. A free throw by Hawkins with 4 seconds left allowed Texas Tech to carry a 52-39 lead into the break. Toppin and Williams paced Texas Tech with 14 points apiece before halftime as the Red Raiders matched their highest-scoring first half of the season. Omier led all scorers with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting. --Field Level Media