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Texas Tech basketball: Davide Moretti’s 19 leads Red Raiders past KSU

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - JANUARY 05: Davide Moretti #25 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders reacts to his teammates play on the court during the second half of the game against the Kansas State Wildcats on January 5, 2019 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Kansas State 63-57. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - JANUARY 05: Davide Moretti #25 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders reacts to his teammates play on the court during the second half of the game against the Kansas State Wildcats on January 5, 2019 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Kansas State 63-57. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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Thanks to a career-high 19 points from sophomore guard Davide Moretti, the No. 11 Texas Tech basketball team defeated Kansas State 63-57 Saturday moving to 2-0 in Big 12 play.

Saturday, the No. 11 Texas Tech basketball team proved that it can win a Big 12 game when its star Jarrett Culver is not up to his usual heroics.  While the team’s leading scorer struggled to a season-low nine points, sophomore Davide Moretti picked up the slack with a career-high 19 points helping Tech knock off a feisty Kansas State team 63-57.

The native of Italy made 7-11 shots from the field while connecting on 3-7 from behind the arc.  Throughout the second half, Moretti hit clutch shots to keep Kansas State a bay as the Wildcats battled back from a 34-19 halftime deficit to cut the Tech lead to just one point at 43-42 with 6:29 to play.

However, Moretti helped the Red Raiders maintain the lead by knocking down a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and then converting on a layup on Tech’s next trip down the court.  Set up by a fantastic help-side block from Tariq Owens, Moretti’s driving score pushed Texas Tech’s lead to 48-42, providing a cushion that KSU could not overcome in the final five minutes.

But the game should never have been that close.  The Red Raiders jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the first eight minutes of action holding the Wildcats without a field goal until the 9:13 mark of the first half.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Chris Beard’s team lost some of its intensity after its fast start giving the Cats life.  The Red Raiders were sloppy with the basketball all afternoon committing 19 turnovers and struggling to execute their half court offense against a Kansas Sate defense that ranked 8th in the nation in opponent scoring as the day began.

And all afternoon, Culver struggled to get to the basket as the Wildcats were quick to help his defender often sending two men at the Big 12’s second-leading scorer as soon as he made a move to the basket.

Culver made just 2-7 shots and was equally as frustrated at the free throw line hitting only 5-10 from the stripe. It was the first time all season that he failed to score in double figures and only the second time that he has not led the team in scoring.

And each time that Culver has not been his team’s offensive leader, it has been Moretti who earned that honor.  Senior Matt Mooney added 14 points while Tariq Owens and Kyler Edwards both scored nine.

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Kansas State was led by Barry Brown Jr.’s 16 points.  Buoyed by the unexpected return of point guard Kamau Stokes (seven points and two assists) who missed the team’s previous contest with a foot injury, the Kansas State guards were able to penetrate the lane against the Red Raider defense leading to easy buckets around the rim as Tech’s big men provided help defense.

The Wildcats finished with nine assists on their 19 made field goals with junior forward Makoi Mawien being the biggest beneficiary.  The 6-foot-9 junior had ten points with almost all of them coming on easy layups as his teammates found him near the basket for scores as Tariq Owens and Norense Odiase left him to help stop dribble penetration.

And when Mawien was not scoring, he was dominating the glass pulling down a game-high eleven rebounds.  But in the end, Kansas State could not find a way to answer Moretti in the clutch.

Following Moretti’s layup to give the Red Raiders a six-point lead with 5:57 to play, Kansas State went 3:18 without scoring.  During that span, the Wildcats went 0-3 from the field (0-2 from 3-point range) and twice missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity while also turning the ball over twice.

The win moved the Red Raiders to 13-1 on the season while dropping Kansas State to 10-4 overall.  Tech stays home to face No. 23 Oklahoma Tuesday night looking to keep its 11-game home winning streak alive.

January schedule favorable for Red Raiders. dark. Next

The Red Raiders have won 26 of their last 27 games in Lubbock since the start of last season.  And on Saturday, they proved that someone other than their hometown hero is capable of putting the team on his back.

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