No. 24 Texas Tech holds off Texas-Rio Grande Valley 68-58

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Freshman Jahmi’us Ramsey scored 15 points in his return after missing four games with a hamstring injury, and No. 24 Texas Tech overcame another sluggish start in a 68-58 victory over Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Saturday.

Fellow freshman Terrence Shannon had his fourth straight double-figure game with 14 points as the Red Raiders (8-3) extended their nonconference home winning streak to 53 games. It’s the second-longest active streak in the nation.

Ramsey, the team’s leading scorer, was just 2 of 7 from 3-point range after his layoff but made four of five shots from inside the arc.

Texas Tech won its third straight game, a streak that started when the Red Raiders stopped a three-game slide with school’s first-ever win over a No. 1 team, against Louisville at Madison Square Garden.

Quinton Johnson II led the Vaqueros (4-8) with 17 points and seven rebounds.

For the second straight game, the Red Raiders trailed at halftime as heavy favorites. Texas-Rio Grande Valley led 27-26 after a dunk by Sean Rhea in the final minute.

Freshman Kevin McCullar scored the first five points on an 11-0 run that broke a 34-34 tie and put Texas Tech in front for good. McCullar tied his career high with 10 points.

Davide Moretti, the only returning starter from the first Texas Tech team to reach the NCAA championship game, hit his only 3-pointer while scoring the final five points in the run. The junior from Italy finished with seven points.

TJ Holyfield had eight points and nine rebounds.

BIG PICTURE

Texas-Rio Grande Valley: The Vaqueros had a second consecutive solid showing on a difficult five-game road trip that started with a 31-point loss to Creighton. Texas Tech led by as many as 16 points in the second half, but the final margin was the same as a 92-82 loss to Omaha in the previous game. The Vaqueros are 0-7 all-time against the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders are having a hard time shaking a 3-point shooting slump, finishing at 25% (4 of 16) after missing all eight attempts in the first half. Texas Tech has been under 30% in five of the past six games, and shot just 33% in the other one.

UP NEXT

Both teams play their final games before their conference openers. Texas-Rio Grande Valley is at Oklahoma on Dec. 30 before the Western Athletic Conference opener Jan. 2 at California Baptist. Texas Tech plays Cal State Bakersfield at home on Dec. 29 before starting Big 12 play Jan. 4 against Oklahoma State, also at home.