LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Simas Lukosius scored 16 points, including a go-ahead jumper with 21 seconds left, and Cincinnati beat No. 15 Texas Tech 75-72 on Saturday night, giving the Red Raiders their first home appearance of the season. He suffered a loss.
Lukosius’ 14-foot shot was the 14th and final lead change in a game that was also tied for eight. That gave the Bearcats (15-7, 4-5 Big 12) a 73-72 lead shortly after Pop Isaacs hit a long defensive step-back 3-pointer to give the Red Raiders their final lead. did.
“They were shooting efficiently… Lukosius made a difference for our team,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said.
Isaacs, who scored a game-high 22 points for Texas Tech (16-5, 5-3), missed a potential game-winning jumper with nine seconds left. The sophomore guard made 5 of 19 field goals, three 3-pointers and 9 of 12 free throws.
“He’s as good an offensive player as I’ve seen on the perimeter in college basketball this year,” Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said. “He’s a tough, tough cover.”
Robert Jennings scored 14 points and Kerwin Walton added 12 points for the Red Raiders.
Dan Skillings Jr. grabbed the last rebound and broke John Newman III for a slam dunk, but Isaacs bounced the shot beyond half court off the front rim and time expired.
Skillings had 14 points and Newman had 11 points for Cincinnati. Aziz Bandaogo had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bearcats entered the game in last place in the 14-team Big 12, shooting just 66.7% from their free throws. They made all 10 attempts against Texas Tech, including eight in the second half.
“We weren’t as bad of a free-throw shooting team as the percentages say,” Miller said. “We had some weird things happen at the free-throw line. … We’ve got to be good. It was tough defending the free-throw line.”
big picture
CINCINNATI: This is the second time this season that a Big 12 rookie has won on the road against a Top 25 team, and the first time in 10 years that the Bearcats have done it. They were No. 1 at the time and won the championship. 12 BYU 71-60 on January 6th.
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders had won their first 11 home games in McCasland’s first season. It was the first consecutive loss overall since last Tuesday’s 85-78 loss to No. 25 TCU.
tournament time
The two teams had only met once before the first game as Big 12 foes. It happened in the 1961 Midwest Region of the 24-team NCAA Tournament, when Cincinnati won on its way to becoming the first team to win back-to-back championships.
Impact of public opinion polls
The Red Raiders, who have moved up five spots in the AP Top 25 over the past two weeks, will definitely drop back this week. It will probably be removed from the vote entirely.
next
Cincinnati has only one game next week, at home against No. 4 Houston on Saturday.
Texas Tech will play No. 18 Baylor on Tuesday night.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-Basketball