CANCUN, Mexico (AP) After getting off to a terrible start, Texas Tech coach Chris Beard knew the first possession of the second half carried extra significance.
Zach Smith turned it into a highlight, game-shifting dunk and Anthony Livingston took over from there.
Livingston had 28 points and nine rebounds, Smith scored 21 points and Texas Tech rallied to rout Utah State 75-51 Wednesday night in a consolation game of the Cancun Challenge.
Texas Tech cut a 12-point first-half deficit to 32-30 at halftime when Beard drew up a play for Smith. Keenan Evans delivered a high pass toward the rim and Smith kept climbing. His emphatic slam brought the crowd to its feet.
”He’s a special player, with his athleticism. He can play in another part of the air space,” Beard said. ”Sometimes a team will be playing good fundamental defense, but you throw the ball above a rim where other guys can’t get it.”
It ignited a dominant 45-22 second half that included a game-ending 19-1 run.
”That was a well-drawn up play by the coaches. It got us going,” Livingston said. ”The whole bench jumped up, the crowd got going and we feed off of that. We definitely needed that at the time.”
Livingston hit 5 of 9 3-pointers and Smith had four dunks on his way to hitting 9 of 10 shots. The Red Raiders (4-1) took third place in the Riviera Division despite finding out about an hour before tipoff that starter Aaron Ross (right leg) couldn’t play.
Ross scored 17 points Tuesday night in a semifinal loss to Auburn.
Jalen Moore scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half for the Aggies (3-2), who raced to a 24-12 lead before fading in their second straight loss.
”I thought we had a great start. We played well on both ends of the floor and played with a lot of fight and played together,” Utah State coach Tim Duryea said. ”But when the momentum swung at the end of the first half, we missed some shots and that mentality carried over to the defensive end.”
LIVINGSTON RESPONDS
Livingston hit 10 of 16 shots after managing three points on 1-of-8 shooting a night earlier.
”That was probably one of the most disappointing nights in his playing career as was one of the most disappointing nights in my coaching career,” Beard said. ”We had some real truth-telling sessions last night and this morning trying to get our team back on the same page and I thought Anthony really responded like a senior is supposed to.”
SECOND HALF DOMINANCE
Texas Tech shot 64.3 percent (19 of 28) in the second half while holding Utah State to 7-of-26 shooting.
MOORE SLOWED
Moore started 3 of 4 from 3-point range before getting into first-half foul trouble. Beard said they changed to a more ”conservative” defense in the second half.
”We changed our pick-and-roll coverages,” Beard said. ”We had to stay on the shooter. He’s a pro.”
BIG PICTURE
Utah State: Moore, a preseason all-Mountain West Conference selection, is clearly the go-to scorer and leader for Utah State. The Aggies collapsed offensively late in the first half without the senior on the floor and need to find other consistent options before conference play begins. Moore was also on the bench at the start of Texas Tech’s game-clinching 19-6 second-half run.
Texas Tech: Poor starts and scoring droughts have to be concerning to Beard ahead of the SEC schedule. After a 12-minute dry spell Tuesday helped them fall behind by 19 points to Auburn in the semifinals, the Red Raiders went 8:14 without a hoop in the first half against Utah State. It took quite a while to adjust to Utah State’s zone, cut down on the poor passes and get better shots.
UP NEXT
Utah State: Will play in-state rival BYU next Wednesday in Salt Lake City.
Texas Tech: Plays its next five games at home, starting Friday against Idaho State. The Red Raiders’ next road game is Dec. 17 at Richmond.
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