Texas Tech had four players in double-figure points, John Roberson had 16 points and nine assists, and the Red Raiders defeated Samford 74-53 at the United Spirit Arena on Saturday.

The Red Raiders, (7-0) started slow, getting down 7-0 after Lubbock native Josh Davis hit his first of six threes.

Samford, (1-5) kept the game close through 10 minutes, but could not seem to stop a strong Tech offense led by Roberson.

Tech soon responded, grabbing a lead and never looking back as it took a 36-28 lead into halftime.

Texas Tech's John Roberson pressures Samford's Josh Davis, a former Monterey standout, during their game Saturday at United Spirit Arena in Lubbock. (Zach Long/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

Texas Tech's Nick Okorie shoots against Samford during their game Saturday at United Spirit Arena in Lubbock. (Zach Long/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

Texas Tech's Mike Singletary shoots against Samford during their game Saturday at United Spirit Arena in Lubbock. (Zach Long/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

“I thought Josh was the only guy that brought his A-game for us today,” head coach Jimmy Tillette said. “I thought (Tech) played really good offense, and I thought their defense defended us for whole possessions.”

Davis came back to Lubbock as an opponent for the first time in his career, after attending Monterey High School.

“It was nice to come home and play in front of my family and friends since I left for college,” Davis said. “That definitely helped my energy, it was still hard to keep focused.”

Davis finished the game 6-of-12 from beyond the 3-point line, and poured in a career- and game-high 26 points.

“He was on fire, when a kid comes home against his hometown team, they usually have good games,” Tech head coach Pat Knight said. “I saw it coming though, anytime you play against a hometown kid, you have a bull’s-eye on your back. We just focused on keeping everyone else from doing big things.”

Tech’s leading scorer was Roberson, but the biggest surprise for the Red Raiders was the ability to spread the ball around and get big baskets from other players.

Roberson and senior Nick Okorie, who had 14 points for the Red Raiders, kept Tech in front throughout the second half, but the Bulldogs made it a ball game late.

Samford cut the lead to 49-43, but back-to-back misses from behind the arc by Davis left the Bulldogs helpless as Tech forward D’walyn Roberts drove the lane for an open layup.

Junior forward Mike Singletary followed with an and-one play that ballooned the Tech lead to 12 with only nine minutes to play.

“We had a chance, at 49-43, but we let it go,” Tillette said. “They scored nine straight and that was it, we couldn’t stay in it.”

Tech held the Bulldogs to less than 40 percent shooting, while not allowing the Bulldogs to score more than 28 points in either half.

“We didn’t change anything defensively at halftime, we just became more aware of the threes,” said Knight. “We still held them to only 28 points in the first half even with a bunch of threes.”

Thanks in big part to Roberson’s timely passing, the Red Raiders were able to find easy layups and open shots. That led to the Raiders shooting more than 54 percent from the field.

“I thought he did well, he had those nine assists and only the two turnovers,” Knight said. “He is doing a lot better, he is turning into a true point guard. We have a better team this year, so he has more guys he can distribute the ball to.”

The Red Raiders will host No. 14 Washington on Thursday at the United Spirit Arena.

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