Instant Reaction: Davide Moretti lifts Texas Tech over Kansas State

The Texas Tech Red Raiders were able to survive a second half where they couldn’t get much going offensively to defeat the Kansas State Wildcats by a score of 63-57. The Red Raiders used their defense once again in key moments to crush a late game run by the Wildcats to win their second Big 12 game of the season.

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The Red Raiders started the game our strong with a 14-0 run that was caused by good shot selection and suffocating defense from the Red Raiders. Matt Mooney started the scoring out with a three pointer from the left side of the floor. Kyler Edwards also got going early with a 5-0 run by himself to push the lead to 8-0. Tariq Owens then scored 4 points and Davide Moretti hit a jump shot to push the lead to 14-0.

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After the Wildcats hit three free throws, a Deshawn Corpew three pushed the lead to 17-3. It was much more back and forth from that point out as the Red Raiders came into the half with a 34-19 lead. The Wildcats came into the half with passion and fire as they outscored the Red Raiders made some baskets and cut the lead to nine just three minutes into the second half. The Wildcats kept fighting and cut the lead to just 3 with just 9 minutes left in the second half.

The Red Raiders allowed a ton of good shots from the Wildcats but Davide Moretti kept the Red Raiders in the game with a huge three-pointer and a good layup to stave off the Wildcats. Moretti took over in this game and really kept the Red Raiders in the game when Jarrett Culver was not having a great game. The Red Raiders went on a 7-0 run with 5 minutes left to help the Red Raiders push the lead back to eight points.

Four free throw misses in a row by the Red Raiders kept the Wildcats close, with about three minutes left in the game the Red Raiders began draining the clock to hopefully close the game out. Jarrett Culver hit three clutch free throws to extend the Red Raider lead to 10 with just two and a half minutes remaining. Davide Moretti got a steal to cap off a career day from the Sophomore point guard. Kyler Edwards, Tariq Owens, and Matt Mooney both hit a pair of free-throws to dampen a late push by the Wildcats to close the game out for the Red Raiders.

Player of the Game: Davide Moretti

The Sophomore guard from Italy led the Red Raiders with a career high 19 points, many of those points coming in crucial moments for the Red Raiders. Although he did commit many turnovers, Moretti stepped up his shooting whenever the rest of the team was cold. For that, he gets today’s player of the game.

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