No. 13 Texas Tech breezes past Bethune-Cookman 79-44

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - TJ Holyfield scored 20 points to lead No. 13 Texas Tech to a 79-44 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Saturday night.

The new-look Red Raiders (2-0) have won their first two games by a combined 70 points. Texas Tech has only three returners from the team that lost to Virginia in last season's national championship game.

Freshman Jahmi'us Ramsey had 13 points and nine rebounds. Davide Moretti, the Red Raiders' only returning starter, had 13 points and sank three 3-pointers.

Texas Tech never trailed and built a 40-19 lead by halftime. The final margin was the largest in the game.

Malik Maitland led Bethune-Cookman (1-1) with 13 points. Isaiah Bailey had 11.

The Red Raiders' stifling defense forced Bethune-Cookman to launch plenty of shots with the shot clock expiring. The Wildcats had 20 turnovers that led to 18 points for Texas Tech.

Bailey scored eight points as the Wildcats opened the second half with a 12-6 run, getting within 46-31 on his two free throws with 14:16 left. They never got closer.

Texas Tech scored 11 in a row over the next five minutes. Holyfield had two layups and a dunk before Moretti sank a 3-pointer and made a layup to stretch the lead to 57-31.

BIG PICTURE

Bethune-Cookman: Wildcats coach Ryan Ridder's team showed flashes of offense in the second half. Adjustments caught Texas Tech off guard. The Wildcats played aggressively. The experience of playing a team like Texas Tech can only help for the rest of the season.

Texas Tech: Red Raiders coach Chris Beard has loaded his team with an infusion of youth that's executing so far. The tough portion of the schedule begins in late November, so until then the Red Raiders look poised to make the most of the opportunities to grow together on the court. ... There were 11 players who got into the game — 10 scored and 10 had rebounds. The only player without a point was Andrei Savrasov, but he had five rebounds in seven minutes.

UP NEXT

Bethune-Cookman travels to Nebraska to face Omaha on Monday night.

Texas Tech will be about 120 miles from campus to play Houston Baptist on Wednesday night in Midland, Texas. That's only time the Red Raiders play away from Lubbock in their first five games.