“I mean, we could feel it. Everybody’s had that type of moment in their life where something wasn’t good at the place before”.
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“We really had to really reach down and gut it out”, Smith said. “Our kids showed a lot of toughness tonight, a lot of intestinal fortitude”. They’re a very good team. Gavin Ware added 15 points, while I.J. Ready had 11 points and Quinndary Weatherspoon added 10 points.
With Coach Larranaga’s squad up 42-29 at the half, it seemed the Hurricanes would pull away easily in the second half as they’d done in their previous four games, but Butler’s Dunham had other ideas. Greene has averaged about 12 minutes and 12 points this season.
A steal, lay-up and three-pointer by Anthony Lawrence-the latter a result of a Jekiri block and rebound-had Miami up, 21-9 and Butler calling a timeout with 12:01 remaining in the half.
This season for the Miami Hurricanes is about correcting a wrong from last season. The Bulldogs got over half of their points from Dunham and Jones.
Texas Tech: Norense Odiase had 10 rebounds.
Unless something really odd happens over the last two weeks of the season, the second College Football Playoff will crown a new champion.
Tech received solid contributions off the bench from Aaron Ross, Jordan Jackson, Isaiah Manderson and Devon Thomas. Tech would put together a nine-point flurry with the score at 22-22 to regain the momentum.
NO. 8 OKLAHOMA 85, McNEESE STATE 56: Buddy Hield scored 24 points and No. 8 Oklahoma shook off a sluggish start to rout NcNeese State in its home opener.
He was 9-for-15 from the field, including matching his career high with four 3-pointers.
The Bulldogs shot 50 percent in the second half, eventually tying the game on Newman’s driving basket for a three-point play with 7:39 left. Behind the strong offensive performance of Newman and the inside presence of Ware, the Bulldogs eventually got back into the contest.
Two years prior, an opening round over eleventh-seeded Bucknell, before falling 74-72 to the third-seeded Marquette team that took down the second-seeded Canes before eventually falling to Syracuse in the Elite Eight.
Taylor came up with the biggest shot in a tight finish that had the teams trading the lead in the final 3 1/2 minutes. After a Ware layup, MSU’s Travis Daniels missed two free throws which could have tied the game.
Minnesota: The Gophers made 14 of their first 21 shots but finished at 45 percent for the game….
The Bulldogs cleared the floor for Newman who drove the right baseline during the final five seconds.
TEXAS TECH (81): N.Odiase 2-5 1-2 5, Z. Smith 6-10 3-7 15, Da.
The Red Raiders took better care of the basketball and churned ahead for a 23-22 advantage. Missouri State went to a 2-3 zone and stopped the Gophers from hurting the Bears from the outside for several minutes Friday.
Minnesota lost to Texas Tech in the 5th place game of the Puerto Rico Tip Off. With the loss, Minnesota falls to 3-2 on the season.
“I’m just glad we got the win tonight”, Smith said. “It’ll be interesting to see a few of the familiar faces”. Guys like Charles Buggs and (Joey) King, kids we recruited, we know a lot of people up there. You coach so many games, you’ve got to prepare your team and make sure they come ready to play.
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The Bulldogs are 1-0 all time against the Cougars, who play in the Ohio Valley Conference. He served as Minnesota’s head coach prior to his arrival at Texas Tech.
