Jordan Tolbert scored 22 points to help Texas Tech snap a nine-game losing streak with a 72-63 win over TCU on Saturday afternoon.
Dejan Kravic added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Red Raiders (10-17, 3-13 Big 12).
Kyan Anderson led the Horned Frogs (10-19, 1-15) with 18 points, and Devonta Abron added 16.
The Red Raiders got out to an early 12-4 lead, but two Anderson 3-pointers helped the Horned Frogs take a two-point lead with 9:17 left in the first half. Texas Tech got in sync offensively and went into halftime up 34-28.
Kravic and Tolbert scored all of the Red Raiders' points in the first 7½ minutes of the second half to put Texas Tech up by 14 with 11:53 left.
A Charles Hill free throw with around 5 minutes to go closed the lead to three, but Tech built it back and held on.
The game looks to finally be slowing down for the young Red Raiders, who successfully executed several plays offensively and relied less on quick scores.
With 3:39 to go in the first half, coach Chris Walker called in a play called "Carolina" from the Texas Tech bench. It ended in a pass from Kravic to Tolbert for a one-handed, windmill alley-oop dunk that ignited the crowd at United Spirit Arena.
That put Tech ahead 29-24 and helped the young team's confidence offensively, but Anderson quickly added four more for TCU to close within one.
The Red Raiders showed further signs of maturity as the half ended. Freshman sensation guard Josh Gray drove to the basket, then kicked it out to wide-open Ty Nurse, who hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left in the half to go up 34-28.
Gray finished the game with 11 points, seven in the second half, and three steals.
Adrick McKinney was another bright spot for TCU, scoring 10 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Abron grabbed six boards for the Horned Frogs.
Jaye Crockett, who has led Texas Tech in scoring more often than anyone else this season, saw only 15 minutes of play, but Tech's other two big men, Kravic and Tolbert, took over the game.
Both teams grabbed 28 rebounds, but the Red Raiders, led by Tolbert and Kravic, outscored the Horned Frogs 42-22 in the paint.
