Scarlet & Gray Take Best Shot From Matadors, Advance to Super 16 of TBT

By Chris Lauderback on July 22, 2018 at 3:32 pm
Jared Sullinger on the block.
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In a good old-fashioned dogfight, Scarlet & Gray survived a game Matadors squad comprised of Texas Tech alumni and advanced to the Super 16 of the TBT with a 82-73 win this afternoon in The Capital Center in Bexley, Ohio. 

  1 2 3 4 F
#1 SCARLET & GRAY 18 20 22 22 82
#9 MATADORS 22 17 22 12 73

Jared Sullinger dominated both ends of the floor posting 28 points and 19 rebounds in a rough and tumble performance. 

After a joyous romp in an opening round win over the West Virginia Wildcats, today's game had a much different feel as the 9th-seeded Matadors made it clear from the start they planned to go toe-to-toe with Scarlet & Gray. 

Scarlet & Gray trailed at the half but used a 17-7 run to take a 55-58 lead midway through the third quarter. The Matadors would not die however, countering with a 13-5 lead run to take a 61-60 edge through three quarters. 

The final quarter saw Scarlet & Gray open on a 9-1 blitz to take a 69-62 lead before the Elam Ending kicked in with the good guys leading 75-70. 

From there, Jon Diebler splashed a triple and William Buford hit a step back 17-footer before a David Lighty alley-oop dunk via a Buford pass turned out the lights on the Matadors.

Beyond Sullinger's beast-mode performance, Lighty added 15 points with Aaron Craft and Diebler each adding a dozen. Buford shot just 3-of-15 for eight points though he was timely down the stretch. 

Chris Cokley paced the Matadors with 20 points and Karl Cochran had 17 while JJ Avila and John Roberson, a teammate of Lighty's overseas, each had 13.

SCARLET & GRAY STAT MATADORS
82 POINTS 73
28-62 (45.2%) FGM-FGA (PCT.) 25-50 (50.0%)
8-23 (34.8%) 3FGM-3FGA (PCT.) 10-16 (62.5%)
18-23 (78.3%) FGM-FGA (PCT.) 13-19 (68.4%)
39 TOTAL REBOUNDS 24
17 OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS 5
22 DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS 19
7 TURNOVERS 7

 Scarlet & Gray shot just 34.8% from deep on the day and 45.2% overall but owned the glass 39-24 including a hefty 17-5 edge on the offensive backboards and outscored the Matadors by five at the stripe. 

The first quarter saw Scarlet & Gray lacking focus as the Matadors took a 22-18 lead on the strength of 64% shooting thanks mostly to JJ Avila who drained three triples on the way to 13 points. Meanwhile, Scarlet & Gray received a pair of uncharacteristic turnovers from Aaron Craft triggering leak outs the other way but still shot a respectable 7-of-15 from the floor. 

The second quarter turned into a physical affair leading to a ton of trips to the line and the Matadors boasting a 27-20 lead midway through before Scarlet & Gray went on a 16-7 run trimming the deficit to 37-36 by way of a free throws and a dust-up between Sullinger and Matador point guard Quincy Diggs leading to his ejection. 

Diggs stood over Sullinger following a dead ball rebound and Sullinger got up, into his chest, prompting Diggs to give Sullinger a push punch to the neck. 

Jon Diebler would sink both foul shots awarded via the Flagrant 2 assessed to Diggs and the Matadors responded with a pair of free throws for Sullinger's technical foul before Aaron Craft ended the scoring with a jumper cutting the halftime deficit to 39-38. 

Scarlet & Gray shot just 32% in the opening half while the Matadors hit on 54% including 5-of-7 from distance. Free throws helped keep Scarlet & Gray close as they hit on 12-of-15 while the Matadors tallied just six points from the stripe. 

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