Texas Tech Outlasts Syracuse with a Strong Second Half in Legends Classic

Darrion Williams spearheaded Texas Tech University’s attack by scoring 20 points against Syracuse University in a 79-74 triumph during the Legends Classic held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The victory placed Texas Tech in the third position in the competition played on Friday night.

J.T. Toppin reinforced the Red Raiders’ performance with 15 points alongside six rebounds and three blocked shots, while Chance McMillian contributed with three accurate three-pointers and tallied 13 points in total. The efforts pushed the Red Raiders to a 5-1 record following an unfortunate defeat to St. Joseph’s the previous day. Williams supplemented his offensive achievement with six rebounds.

In contrast, J.J. Starling delivered a high-impact performance for Syracuse by scoring 27 points on 9-of-15 field-goal attempts. Chris Bell’s contribution was also notable, scoring 22 points and maintaining a flawless record from the free-throw line with 11 successful free-throws. Despite the efforts, Syracuse remained at 3-2 after the encounter. Syracuse experienced travel hardships with consecutive losses in New York, including a narrow defeat to Texas.

Texas Tech showcased resilience with minimal turnovers, only recording one after the initial two minutes of gameplay. Despite this, the teams remained closely matched within a five-point range for the initial 28 minutes. However, a strategic play by Williams and an alley-oop feed to Toppin established a more comfortable lead for the Red Raiders.

Syracuse made several attempts to rally, notably closing the gap to five points late in the game. Efforts by Chris Bell and a collaborative sequence with Eddie Lampkin Jr. highlighted Syracuse’s offensive strategy, but ultimately fell short when Bell missed a significant three-point attempt. Following this, a timely turnaround jumper by Williams solidified Texas Tech’s prevailing lead.

Earlier, the match had been tightly contested in the first half. Syracuse closed with a run that neutralized Texas Tech’s lead, tying the game at 31-31 at halftime. Starling made notable contributions by adding 14 points in his first-half performance.

In terms of scoring efficiency, Texas Tech had a shooting percentage of 42.9 percent from the field, with a less precise 33.3 percent from three-point range. Meanwhile, Syracuse managed a slightly lower 41.5 percent overall shooting accuracy but capitalized on their free-throw opportunities, converting 24 out of 28 attempts.