Kevin Obanor scored 15 points and the Texas Tech defense did the rest as the No. 21 Red Raiders defeated hapless Louisville 70-38 on Tuesday in a consolation semifinal game at the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.
The Red Raiders (4-1) move on to the consolation championship game on Wednesday when they will play Ohio State, which later routed Cincinnati, 81-53. Louisville (0-5) will square off against the Bearcats in the tournament’s seventh-place game.
D’Maurian Williams added 10 points off the bench and Daniel Batcho pulled down 12 rebounds and had nine points to contribute to Texas Tech’s win.
The Red Raiders swamped Louisville early, building a 19-point lead at halftime by limiting the Cardinals to just 4-for-23 shooting from the floor while outscoring Louisville 17-2 over the final 8:27 of the first half. The Cardinals missed their final seven shots of the half.
Texas Tech put a final stamp on the win over the first four minutes of the second half, reeling off the period’s first 13 points to make it 45-13 while Louisville was stuck in neutral. The Cardinals missed six shots and two free throws while committing six turnovers over that stretch. From there the Red Raiders strolled to the finish line.
El Ellis and Jae’Lyn Withers led the Cardinals with just seven points apiece. The Cardinals shot only 22.4 percent for the game and had fewer made field goals (11) than Texas Tech had assists (12).
Louisville has lost its first five games to begin a season for the first time since 1940-41, when it dropped its first 11 contests.
Texas Tech grabbed the early lead via a 13-2 run along with the Cardinals’ 1-for-9 start from the floor over the first 7:53 of the half. But the Red Raiders could not put away their struggling opponent, going nearly seven minutes without a field goal before Obanor’s jumper at the 5:33 mark pushed their advantage to 20-11.
It got worse for Louisville as the Red Raiders finished off the half on a 17-2 run, capped by Pop Issacs’ 3-pointer in the final seconds to grant Texas Tech a 32-13 lead at the break.
–Field Level Media
