No. 3 Texas Tech takes NCAA Tournament-record 46 3-pointers and beats No. 14 UNC Wilmington 82-72
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kerwin Walton scored a career-high 27 points and No. 3 seed Texas Tech attempted an NCAA Tournament-record 46 3-pointers in an 82-72 victory over No. 14 seed UNC Wilmington on Thursday night.
The Red Raiders raced to a 16-point lead, lost most of it by going cold in the final 6 1/2 minutes of the first half and then made enough plays down the stretch to recover after the Seahawks went ahead with about 14 minutes remaining.
Texas Tech (26-8) finished 13 for 46 behind the arc, breaking the tournament record of 43 attempts by Saint Joseph's in a 1997 second-round game against Boston College. The 46 3s also set a school record.
'I felt like our grit and fight really showed late in the game,' Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. 'We felt like we'd have to win on the glass and play 50-50 basketball in order to give us a chance to win.
'We shot a lot of 3s; a lot of those were open.'
Elijah Hawkins contributed 14 points for the Red Raiders and Darrion Williams had 13 to set up a second-round matchup with No. 11 seed Drake on Saturday. Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin had 12 points and 10 rebounds for his 16th double-double of the season.
'All credit goes to Texas Tech, and I have lots of respect for the program and the team," UNC Wilmington coach Takayo Siddle said. 'Texas Tech shot way more 3s than I thought they would. I was surprised by that, but I thought the ones they made were timely.'
Nolan Hodge scored 18 points for UNC Wilmington (27-8), the Coastal Athletic Association Champion. The Seahawks shot 41% from the floor.
Takeaways
UNC Wilmington: The Seahawks fought well to recover and take the lead, but could never get it larger than one point.
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders shot just 27 for 69 (39%) from the floor and got a spark from Walton, who made eight 3-pointers.
'Most of the credit goes to Elijah Hawkins,' Walton said. 'He knows exactly where to find me. I have great teammates that help me have a game like this.'
Up next
Texas Tech will play Saturday, looking to reach the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the last seven NCAA tournaments.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
Cody Friesen, The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Texas A&M named a transfer portal 'winner' ahead of HC Bucky McMillan's first season
Texas A&M's basketball program is in great hands with new head coach Bucky McMillan now leading the way, already proving his elite recruiting skills for a program not traditionally seen as a basketball powerhouse, but one that is undoubtedly on the rise after landing nine players from the transfer portal. Led by last week's exciting news that former Texas Tech/Creighton point guard Pop Isaacs signed with the Aggies, combined with the official return of Indiana star transfer forward Mackenzie Mgbako, who was impressing scouts during his NBA Combine performance last month, McMillan's transfer portal success has garned plenty of praise from several media members, including The Athletic's Tobias Bass, who placed the Aggies among 19 teams. Advertisement Last week, respected college basketball analyst Evan Miyakawa also praised McMillan for landing five of his top 100-ranked players, as Mgbako, Isaacs, Rashaun Agee, center Federiko Federiko, and small forward Rylan Griffen are considered immediate contributors who should make an impact as soon as the 2025 season begins. The fact that McMillan, who inherited a roster completely depleted after Buzz Williams took star forwards Pharrel Payne and Solomon Washington with him to Maryland, left just sophomore Chris McDermott as the only Williams-recruited player on the roster. With 12 players on the roster, it's expected that McMillan will add three more veterans from the portal to fill out the 15-player threshold, which shouldn't be a difficult task given his success over the past two months. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty. This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M basketball named a transfer portal 'winner'
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
WCWS championship live updates: Texas vs. Texas Tech Game 2 score, schedule and today's latest news
Hello, softball fans. Welcome to The Athletic' s live coverage of the Women's College World Series championship matchup. Texas won Game 1, so we could have a champion tonight. If Texas Tech wins tonight, Game 3 will be played tomorrow. Either way, we will have a new champion as Texas and Texas Tech are both looking for their first-ever title. Follow along with our coverage from Oklahoma City.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Texas' Reese Atwood makes Texas Tech superstar NiJaree Canady pay on failed intentional walk
Texas Tech softball superstar NiJaree Canady is so good at throwing strikes that it cost the Red Raiders their game Wednesday night. The Red Raiders were just four outs away from securing a victory in Game 1 of the Women's College World Series Final — and Canady was having no issues mowing down Texas' order as the Longhorns still had a doughnut on the scoreboard in the 1-0 game. Then came the chaos. 3 NiJaree Canady and Texas Tech will now have to win two straight against Texas to win the WCWS. BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images With two runners on, Canady elected to intentionally walk Texas catcher Reese Atwood. But on what was supposed to be ball four, Canady left her pitch out over the plate, and Atwood made her pay for it as she knocked in both baserunners and the Longhorns took the lead. Texas Tech couldn't strike back in the top of the final inning, and Texas took Game 1. 3 Reese Atwood's wild single in the bottom of the sixth inning wound up giving Texas the win in Game 1. Brett Rojo-Imagn Images The mistake was a rare one for Canady, as she's widely considered the best pitcher in college softball. The Kansas native played her first two collegiate seasons at Stanford, where she compiled a 41-10 pitching record and posted just a 0.67 ERA. She racked up 555 strikeouts to just 65 walks. She won the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award last season, PAC-12 Pitcher of the Year, was a First Team All-American, and a two-time PAC-12 First-Teamer. Canady then elected to give up the possible Stanford degree and received a whopping $1 million in NIL from Texas Tech to try and take the program out of the 29-21 gutter it was in a year ago. 3 NiJaree Canady has been a dominant force for Texas Tech this season. Brett Rojo-Imagn Images This season, she led the nation with the only ERA under 1.00 and has guided the Red Raiders to a 59-13 record as they chase their first-ever national title. She's certainly accustomed to throwing strikes, which is what may have been her downfall. Atwood said postgame to ESPN's Holly Rowe that she noticed Canady's first pitch of the at-bat was in the zone — from there, she was hunting another to take a crack at. 'I knew I was gonna have to take a risk to do something for my team,' Atwood said. Atwood was hitless throughout the WCWS prior to the game-winner, making the intentional walk decision and the miscue all the more brutal for Canady and Texas Tech. The teams return to action Thursday when the Longhorns will have a chance to take the best-of-three series for the championship.
