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Darrion Williams sparks Texas Tech basketball to rally past No. 11 Baylor: 3 takeaways
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- Darrion Williams sparks Texas Tech basketball to rally past No. 11 Baylor: 3 takeaways
The Texas Tech basketball team closed the regular season on a major high, battling foul trouble and using the stellar play of Darrion Williams down the stretch to hold off No. 11 Baylor 78-68 on Saturday in United Supermarkets Arena.
The Red Raiders (22-9, 11-7) led the majority of the way before the Bears briefly took a one-point lead. Williams ignited the game-deciding run that provided Tech a big win.
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Warren Washington (foot) missed his fourth game in a row though Robert Jennings and Eemli Yalaho continued to show their progression in helping shut off lanes for the Bears.
Texas Tech basketball continues positives from road swing
Against two of the worst teams in the Big 12, the Red Raider refined their defensive approach. The question was how would those tweaks hold up against much better competition.
Turns out, the principles are transferrable. Texas Tech continued to be handsy and pesky on defense to go on a 16-0 run out of the gate.
Those handsy tendencies, though, also led to some foul trouble. Pop Isaacs and Darrion Williams each had three fouls by halftime.
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Isaacs, though, has suddenly found his offensive rhythm. The sophomore guard led all scorers with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting to go with four rebounds.
Baylor entered the game third in the country in 3-point shooting but went just 1-of-8 from 3 in the first half, which allowed Tech to hold a 40-27 advantage at the break despite the foul trouble.
Fouls create major problems
After the Red Raiders went back up by 16 early in the second half, Isaacs was whistled for his fourth foul. Soon after, Williams and Jennings had their fourth infractions as well.
That, plus the Bears utilizing their bigger bodies in the screen-and-drive game, allowed Baylor to go on a 20-6 run that cut the deficit to two with 7:54.
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At this point of the game, Baylor had been whistled for 18 fouls and Tech 17, though the Bears had more bodies to spread the whistles around.
Darrion Williams continues his elevation
With the game tied at 56-56, Williams, with four fouls, took over for Texas Tech.
Williams hit a 3, starting a transition opportunity to find Kerwin Walton for a 3, had the hockey assist on another Walton 3, dropped one off to Jennings in the post and finished an and-1 opportunity to put Tech back in front 69-59 with 3:51 left to play.
The 13-3 run was enough to get the job done for a big home win to close the regular season.
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What's next?
The Big 12 Tournament begins Tuesday in the T-Mobile Center at Kansas City, Missouri. Final pairings were scheduled to be announced later Saturday.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Darrion Williams sparks Texas Tech basketball to rally past No. 11 Baylor
