Adams Leads Red Raiders to Win Over North Florida

Last night started a new era for the Red Raiders and they did not disappoint as they start off the season with a win defeating North Florida 89-74!

First Half:

The Red Raiders came out firing early in the first half and got out to an early 9-0 lead after a couple of baskets by Bryson Williams, Mylik Wilson, and Kevin Obanor.

Williams began to show why he was one of the most intriguing players coming into the season by ripping off a couple of baskets back-to-back to give Tech the 22-13 lead.

Obanor also decided to join the fun and showed why he was one of the best and most sought-after players in the transfer portal this past offseason after he ripped back-to-back step-back three-pointers to push Tech’s lead 28-17.

The offense looked better than it did last season and more potent with all these scorers on the court for Tech.

Hampton transfer Davion Warren showed his scoring ability after being one of the top scorers in the country last season. He got involved early and extended the Tech lead to 30-17 after a layup.

North Florida would not go away that easy after they knocked down a couple of three-pointers of their own by Chaz Lanier and Jose Placer to close the lead 37-30 nearing the end of the first half.

Williams also gave us a glimpse of his range when he knocked down a three-pointer of his own after the assist from Wilson to continue their lead 45-34.

Late in the first half, Marcos Santos-Silva showing he’s still a name to remember after he got back-to-back shots to give the Red Raiders the lead going into half 50-36.

Second Half:

Starting the second half, it was the Bryson Williams show as North Florida could do nothing but watch. He scored 10 straight points for the Red Raiders, pushing their lead to 60-46.

North Florida tried to come back with a response, but the Red Raiders shut down that real quick and after Warren and Wilson each found the basket a few times to push the lead back to 69-55.

It would be scoreless for about three minutes before Obanor and Santos-Silva put up a few layups as Tech held the lead 76-58 going into a timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, Obanor knocked down a few free throws and another three-pointer as Tech held their largest lead of the game at 83-61 with about 6 minutes left in the game.

Even Mr. Netflix himself, KJ Allen, got in on the fun after his layup and slammed home a dunk with some authority that fired up the Texas Tech crowd to push the lead to 88-65.

Kevin McCullar would knock down a late free throw securing the win for the Red Raiders 89-74.

Texas Tech’s frontcourt scored 52 of their 89 points as Williams led the way with 22 points on 9-11 shooting with seven rebounds. Obanor had 17 points and shot 3-5 from deep. And Santos-Silva finished with 13 points off the bench.

Now the backcourt struggled shooting a little bit, but that didn’t stop guys from being effective. Leading the backcourt was Davion Warren, who finished with 14 points, three rebounds, and five assists.

Mylik Wilson had five points, two rebounds, and seven assists in the win. Kevin McCullar padded the stat sheet and finished the contest with eight points, six rebounds, and five assists.

As a team, the Red Raiders shot 51.5% from the field and only 26.7% from the three-point range. It should not be a cause of concern, given that this was the first game a lot of these guys had ever played together.

The defense still struggles with switching and some miscommunications, but in Adams’ style of play, that’s to be expected at first. But give these guys more games to get used to one another and develop that chemistry, and we are going to see a lethal offensive team and a dangerous lockdown defense.

The Red Raiders will next host Grambling on Friday, November 12th, in Lubbock at the United Supermarkets Arena, with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+. The Red Raiders defeated Grambling last season 81-40.