BY JEFF WALKER
A-J SPORTS EDITOR

Frustrated with his team’s inability to make a layup, Texas Tech head coach Pat Knight pulled someone from the stands Thursday and brought him into the Red Raiders’ huddle during a time out.

“I was just tired of having 18 to 21-year olds miss layups that a 12-year old could hit, so I brought a 12-year old in (the huddle) and let them know that he could hit layups,” Knight said.

Texas Tech's D'walyn Roberts puts a shot up over Stephen F. Austin's Girod Adams during their game Thursday at United Spirit Arena. Roberts' double-double led the Red Raiders to a 69-55 victory.

“I was just looking for a kid who looked about 12 because I told my guys a fifth-grader could hit the layups we’re missing. … I brought him in and said, Hey, can you hit layups?’ He said, Yes, sir’ So I was like, See? He’s 12 and he can hit layups. Why can’t you when you’re 18 and 21?’”

Knight’s ploy must have worked.

After a 12-2 run to close the first half gave the Red Raiders the lead for good, Tech increased its lead as the second half progressed en route to a 69-55 victory over Stephen F. Austin in front of an announced crowd of 9,436 at United Spirit Arena.

Neither offense put on a shooting clinic, which was good for a Tech team that has struggled defensively at times this season.

The Lumberjacks (7-4) had their worst shooting performance of the season, partly due to the fact that leading scorer Josh Alexander only played 10 minutes. Alexander left the game in the first half with a high ankle sprain after coming down awkwardly on a missed shot by the Red Raiders.

With or without Alexander, though, Stephen F. Austin couldn’t make a shot. The Lumberjacks missed 12 field goals in a row in the first half, going 7:22 between made field goals at one point.

The Red Raiders, though, only led 11-7 when SFA made its second field goal because Tech didn’t shoot well either.

Tech (10-4) shot 32 percent in the first half, while the Lumberjacks shot 18 percent. The teams combined to miss 48 of 64 shots. The Red Raiders tied the game at 20 on a three-point play by D’walyn Roberts – who recorded his first double-double – and then scored nine of the final 11 points of the half to lead 29-22 at the break.

“That was the worst shooting performance we’ve ever had,” Stephen F. Austin head coach Danny Kaspar said. “… You’ve got to stick the ball in the hole, fellas. That’s a pretty simple explanation.”

Knight

Knight’s lesson, though, began before Thursday’s matchup. Following Sunday’s 111-66 loss at Stanford, Knight and his coaching staff spent two hours going over the defensive rules installed before the season. Knight said the coaching staff talked to the players after the Stanford loss and several players didn’t know the proper assignments.

“It was kind of like a clinic. We could have filmed it and sold it, that’s what it was like,” Knight said. “We broke down every aspect of our defense. It took over a couple of hours. … At least they showed they could listen, and this was the first time they asked questions. That kind of bothered me. If you don’t understand something, you’ve got to ask a question. … I think it opened a line of communication better for them so I think it worked out pretty good.”

Tech led by as many as 20 points before the Lumberjacks scored the final six points after Knight brought in the reserves for the final minute.

Roberts finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds. He’s the second Tech player this season to record a double-double. Mike Singletary, who finished with only two points but nine rebounds, has Tech’s other double-double – 12 points, 11 rebounds in the 86-78 win over New Mexico.

Texas Tech 69, Stephen F. Austin 55

STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 86

FG FT REB

Min. M-A M-A O T PF A TP

Alexander 10 1-5 2-2 2 5 1 0 5

Shaw 30 1-8 2-4 4 12 0 1 5

Kingsley 20 2-6 0-6 2 8 5 0 4

Bell 34 3-8 2-4 0 1 2 3 9

E. Williams 32 5-14 2-2 0 3 4 1 12

Adams 16 1-6 2-2 0 3 2 0 4

Harris 14 2-5 0-0 0 0 5 0 4

Z. Williams 8 0-1 0-0 0 1 0 0 0

McDaniel 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0

Akpan 13 3-11 2-6 6 13 2 0 8

Smith 4 0-2 1-2 1 2 0 0 1

Davis 7 1-3 0-0 0 0 0 0 3

Scott 10 0-3 0-0 3 4 1 0 0

1 2 Totals 200 19-72 13-28 19 54 22 5 55

TEXAS TECH 69

FG FT REB

Min. M-A M-A O T PF A TP

Roberts 27 5-6 1-4 2 11 1 0 11

Lewandowski 21 3-6 2-2 1 4 4 2 8

Voskuil 31 4-8 4-4 0 4 3 1 12

Roberson 38 4-13 2-2 0 4 2 3 11

Okorie 28 1-5 5-10 0 6 1 4 7

Craig 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0

Graham 13 2-6 0-0 0 1 2 1 6

Dunn 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0

Cohadarevic 15 5-9 2-2 2 6 5 0 12

Singletary 21 1-7 0-0 1 9 2 3 2

Suljagic 4 0-2 0-0 0 0 1 1 0

1 3 Totals 200 25-62 16-24 7 48 21 15 69

Stephen F. Austin 22 33 – 55

Texas Tech 29 40 – 69

Records: Texas Tech 10-4, Stephen F. Austin 7-4. Shooting percentages: Stephen F. Austin 26.4% FG, 17.4% 3-pt. FG, 46.4% FT; Texas Tech 40.3% FG, 25% 3-pt. FG, 66.7% FT. 3-point goals: Stephen F. Austin 4-23 (Alexander 1-4, Shaw 1-4, Bell 1-2, E. Williams 0-3, Adams 0-4, Hrris 0-2, Z. Williams 0-1, Smith 0-1, Davis 1-2); Texas Tech 3-12 (Voskuil 0-3, Roberson 1-5, Okorie 0-2, Graham 2-2). Steals: Stephen F. Austin 2 (Bell, E. Williams). Blocked shots: Stephen F. Austin 3 (Kingsley 2, E. Williams); Texas Tech 7 (Roberts 2, Lewandowski 2, Cohadarevic, Singletary, Suljagic). Turnovers: Stephen F. Austin 4, Texas Tech 6. Total fouls: Stephen F. Austin 22, Texas Tech 21. Fouled out: Kingsley, Harris, Cohadarevic. Technical fouls: None. Officials: Steve Welmer, David Hall, Terry Moore. Attendance: 9,436.

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