As the No. 15 Texas Tech men’s basketball team matched up with the No. 11 BYU Cougars on Saturday, the Red Raiders entered halftime in a close contest. The Red Raiders weren’t able to really put the Cougars away (which isn’t shocking, this BYU team is legit, hence the ranking that they entered the game with).
And the score at halftime showed that. The Red Raiders were clinging on to a 32-31 lead over the visiting Cougars. The offense was imperfect and Texas Tech needed some life in the second half.
And while LeJuan Watts hasn’t been the most dominant player for Texas Tech throughout the season (and he wasn’t even the most productive scorer against the Cougars), it’s clear that he had an incredible impact on this game and was able to provide the Red Raiders with what they needed to get that 13-point home win over BYU.
LeJuan Watts was crucial for the No. 15 Texas Tech Red Raiders in their 13-point win over the No. 11 BYU Cougars
Really nobody from Texas Tech was all that amazing scoring in the first half, but Watts’ six points basically just put him on pace to match his season average of a little over 13 points per game. He hit four free throws, nailed a shot at roughly nine minutes left in the first half, and pulled down four rebounds.
Nothing overly remarkable, nothing mind boggling or incredible, but it was enough.
His second half showing though? That was fantastic stuff. The Cougars weren’t able to contain Watts and he scorched them.
Watts put up 14 points in the second half alone, hitting on 5-of-9 from the field, 2-of-4 from behind the three point line, and then 2-of-2 at the free throw line. Along with that, Watts grabbed four more rebounds and dished out a couple of assists.
In total, Watts had 20 points, eight rebounds, a couple of assists, and a couple of steals. His presence was certainly necessary for Texas Tech to be able to get a win against one of the best teams in the Big 12 and it was great to see him have a great game.