No. 16 Texas Tech didn’t just beat Stonehill on Saturday. It buried the Skyhawks under a wave of defense, rebounding and shot-making, rolling to an 88-37 win at United Supermarkets Arena and stretching its non-conference home winning streak to 50 games.
DaKari Spear led the charge with 22 points, while Amari Barrett and Jamichael Stillwell each posted double-doubles. Six Red Raiders finished in double figures, and the final margin matched the kind of lopsided result that only shows up once in a while in program history. It was the 15th time Texas Tech has won by 50 points or more.
The Red Raiders smothered Stonehill from the start and never let up, holding the Skyhawks to 24.1% shooting and forcing 18 turnovers. Texas Tech also owned the glass, finishing with a 59-24 rebounding edge, and outscored Stonehill 44-12 in the paint.
“I told our team before the game in the locker room that our defensive intensity for 40 minutes needed to be what we hang our hat on today,” said Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland who is now 27-0 in non-conference home games leading the program. “We’ve had some great starts, but we haven’t finished games very well in the second half defensively. That’s a positive for us.”
Texas Tech was already in control by halftime, taking a 43-21 lead into the break after turning a slow start into a decisive run. The Red Raiders were down 13-10 before ripping off 18 straight points, a stretch that included a Damarion Dennis 3-pointer and later a Barrett triple that pushed the lead to 39-17. By halftime, Tech had built a 25-12 rebounding advantage and a 26-4 edge in paint scoring.
Barrett was a big part of that first-half surge and finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. The freshman from Oklahoma City had scored two points in the opener against Jackson State, then sat out the next two games before coming off the bench and giving Tech 27 minutes against Stonehill. He also led the team with five offensive rebounds.
“Amari was an inspiration today,” McCasland said. “He’s been that way since the moment he got on campus.
We recruited him because he’s a winner. He spends as much time in the gym as anyone on our team and he practices as hard as anyone on our team.
He’s done all the little things every day. He gave us a huge lift today.”
Stillwell added 13 points and 12 rebounds for his second straight double-double, following his 11-point, 13-rebound effort against Illinois. He shot 6-for-8 from the field and grabbed three offensive boards, helping fuel a Tech frontcourt that controlled the game physically.
Spear’s night was the loudest of all. The freshman from The Colony scored 22 points in just his fourth college game, going 6-for-9 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range.
Eighteen of those points came in the second half, when he knocked down four threes in five attempts. Through his first three games, he had totaled just 11 points.
“He had a great attack in transition and in the paint,” McCasland said of Spear. “I thought he stayed aggressive and has a great touch.
This is who we know he can become. Defensively, his gap help and length is special.
As good as everyone thinks he is offensively, I thought this was also his best defensive effort by far.”
Damarion Dennis matched Stillwell with 13 points and also added three steals, two assists and five rebounds. Cruz Davis scored 12 points for the fourth straight game to open the season, while Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn finished with 11. Davis also handed out six assists, grabbed six rebounds and chipped in two steals.
Stonehill managed only 16 points after halftime, and Texas Tech’s defense kept tightening the screws. The Skyhawks finished at 24.1% from the field and were limited to 29.2% shooting in the first half alone, while Tech forced 12 turnovers before the break and committed only six of its own.
The 37 points allowed were the fewest in the McCasland era and matched the program’s defensive output against Incarnate Word in the 2018-19 season. The margin also stands as the 11th-largest in Texas Tech history, behind only the program’s record 72-point win over Nicholls State in 2002.
The streak at home in non-conference play now sits at 50 games, the second-longest run in program history and third nationally behind Auburn’s 69 and Baylor’s 53. Texas Tech has not lost a non-conference home game since falling to No. 15 Kentucky in overtime on January 25, 2020, and is 104-1 in its last 105 such games.
Texas Tech closes its five-game home stand on Wednesday, November 18, against LSU New Orleans at 6:30 p.m. at the USA. It will be the fourth meeting between the teams, with the Red Raiders holding a 2-1 series edge after an 82-50 win last November in Lubbock.
LSU New Orleans finished last season 15-18 overall and 12-10 in Southland Conference play under second-year coach Stacy Hollowell. After that, Tech heads to Las Vegas for the Players Era and opens against No.
10 Louisville on November 24.
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