Texas Tech beats Richmond 85-70 for 9th straight win

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) Devaughtah Williams had 17 points and eight rebounds to help Texas Tech beat Richmond 85-70 on Tuesday night for its ninth straight win.

It's the longest winning streak for the Red Raiders (10-1) since the 2009-10 season.

''I'm really, really pleased to get this win over a very good Richmond team,'' Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith said. ''To finish this non-conference schedule at 10-1 really validated that our guys are improving at a lot of areas.''

Following a steal and layup by Williams, Texas Tech took its largest lead of the game at 49-29 with 17:23 left in the second half.

Williams scored all seven of his first-half points during a 13-3 run that pushed Texas Tech's lead from 13-7 to 26-10 in the span of about three minutes.

Norense Odiase and Keenan Evans added 14 points apiece for Texas Tech, which made 52 percent of its field goal attempts.

''When every player on the floor is able to contribute, it makes it easier,'' Williams said about their balanced scoring attack. ''I always felt like if we had four players scoring in double digits, it's hard to beat us.''

Richmond (8-4) was led by ShawnDre' Jones' 16 points. T.J. Cline added 14 points, Khwan Fore and Terry Allen had 13 apiece, and Marshall Wood 11.

Allen, one of two players to average 20 points and eight rebounds in the country, picking up his third foul midway through the first half and got his fourth with 15:08 remaining in the game. He had two points at the break.

''The foul trouble early was really difficult for us to overcome,'' Richmond coach Chris Mooney said. ''Terry Allen is one of two players averaging 20 and eight. And he had three fouls in the first half. T.J. Cline, our center, who is a really good player, had two fouls within the first five minutes.''

Texas Tech was unable to take advantage of Allen's shortened minutes as the Spiders closed out the half by outscoring the Red Raiders 19-16.

Despite holding a 41-29 lead at halftime, Texas Tech finished sloppy -- shooting 1 for 6 from the floor and turned the ball over four times in the final four minutes of the half.

''It sets our confidence pretty high, especially going into the Texas (game) this weekend because Richmond was a good team,'' Williams said, ''So obviously, it means it was a good victory. Going ahead, we're just going to keep on working hard.''

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TIP-INS:

Richmond: T.J. Cline did not fall far from the family tree. He is the son of Nancy Lieberman, who is a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and U.S. Olympian among other notable accolades. His father, Tim, played for the Washington Generals. T.J. Cline ended the game with 14 points.

Texas Tech: Over the last five games, Texas Tech's Toddrick Gotcher has been accurate from beyond the 3-point line. He has made at least one trey in the past five contests - shooting 52 percent (16 of 31) during the span. He went 2 for 4 against Richmond.

SHARING IS CARING

Going into Tuesday's contest, Richmond averaged 17.5 assists per game and shot 49.4 percent from the perimeter. Texas Tech limited the Spiders to 12 assists and 37 percent from 3-point range.

TOUGH SCHEDULE

Despite their 8-4 record, Richmond has shown an affinity for playing a strong non-conference record. The Spiders have defeated Wake Forest, California and UNI - who have combined for a record of 25-10. Richmond dropped road games to then-No. 22 West Virginia and Florida.

UP NEXT:

Richmond returns home for an Atlantic 10 conference game against St. Joseph's on Saturday.

Texas Tech hosts Big 12 rival Texas on Saturday.