Northwestern St. Demons vs Texas Tech Red Raiders Box Score on Nov 25, 2020

With a roster composed of seven returnees and seven newcomers, Texas Tech figures to encounter some growing pains as the best combinations take form.

The season opener was not all that painful for the 14th-ranked Red Raiders, though.

Buoyed by a solid first half in which 12 players got court time, Texas Tech routed Northwestern State 101-58 on Wednesday in Lubbock, Texas.

One of the higher profile newcomers, Mac McClung, led the Red Raiders (1-0) with 20 points. Returning starter Terrence Shannon Jr. contributed 16, ballyhooed freshman Micah Peavy added 14 with some highlight-reel slam dunks and graduate transfer Marco Santos-Silva recorded 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Jamaure Gregg led the Demons (0-1) with 11 points. Northwestern State shot only 34.4 percent as a team from the floor (21 of 61) and missed 18 of 23 3-point tries.

The Red Raiders bolted to a 57-29 halftime lead with the kind of recipes coaches dream about: They shot 58.3 percent from the floor (21 of 36), beat the Demons on the glass 28-13, produced 24 points in the paint and generated 17 points off turnovers.

Northwestern State kept Texas Tech in range early and closed within 28-22 on a Gregg jumper at the 9:01 juncture of the first half. However, the Red Raiders reeled off a 15-4 burst, fueled by Shannon and another newcomer, Wichita State transfer Jamarius Burton.

After scoring 12 first-half points, McClung triggered a quick start to the second half with a bucket that started a 14-3 run. Red Raiders coach Chris Beard soon started rotating in reserves, a move that didn't lead to a drop-off.

Instead, Texas Tech got 31 bench points in the blowout.

The guard-oriented Demons never got in sync and wound up with 19 turnovers and only eight assists. The Red Raiders logged 22 assists on 38 makes from the floor, eight of those from outside the 3-point arc in 20 attempts.

--Field Level Media