After a season of fights on the free throw line, the Texas Tech basketball team came through the clutch to beat Norte Dame 59-52 to get to Sweet 16 thanks to exquisite work on the charity strip. All ten of their free kicks in the final 3:30 of the game, Tech was able to overcome a late deficit despite yet another of the late field goal-scorers plaguing Mark Adams’ squad throughout this season. And it was the most unlikely of players who hit the biggest foul shot of the game.
Just a 46% free-kick shooter, senior Marcus Santos-Silva struck a few tries with just 0:55 left to give his team a 55-52 lead. Shot with his right hand, the natural left came on the line just seconds after Kevin Obanor drained some free kicks himself to bring the tech with a point and lead. What’s more, Santos-Silva’s clutch shots came as a result of a stellar defensive play he saw across the track and blocked a driving layout attempt by Irishman Blake Wesley.
As a team, Tech would go 13-14 on the line in the second 20 minutes after missing all three attempts in the first half. And how badly the Red Raiders shot the ball in the night, they need every point they can get on the line.
Just one game after shooting 66.7% as a team in a round-one victory over No. 14 Montana State, Tech was just 21-59 (35.6%) off the floor and 4-15 (26.7%) from about the 3-point arc.
For what it’s worth, the 11th seeded Irish were no better off shooting out of the field with 32.7% overall. But nine three-point buckets (albeit on 28 attempts) would help keep ND in the game. In fact, head coach Mike Brey’s team would score 3 points more than they did in the 2-point contest.
The game was a stalemate so far, with possession split evenly between the teams. While Tech’s patented no-mid, switch-all defense kept the Irish out of the paint and kept them at just 10 points in the backcourt, the North Lady relied heavily on a 2-3 zone for the Red Forcing Raiders to try to make shots. the Perimeter. However, Tech was able to get the ball inside enough to keep a 14-point edge in the lane.
Leading Tech by doing the dirty work all night, Obanor shot Tech with 15 points and pulled back with 15 boards. Meanwhile, both Bryson Williams and Kevin McCullar Jr. added 14 points as the only other Red Raiders in double digits.
Meanwhile, after scoring just three points in the first round of the tournament, Dane Goodwin led the Irish with 14 own points. He was 5-8 off the field including 3-5 from 3-point range. And sometimes in the second half it looked as if the junior from Ohio would decide to shoot his team to victory.
But the Red Raider defense would strengthen the track. After the Irish saw a 52-49 lead at the 2:09 mark of the second half, Tech would shoot the Irish at 0-4 to close out the game, forcing a couple of circumstances.
At the same time, the Red Raiders will be drawing the line and realizing their chances. Good teams do that in March. And that’s why Texas Tech is still dancing.
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