Culver 21 points, Texas Tech 5-0 after beating Wofford 79-56

Nov 23, 2017, 02:50 am

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Hometown freshman guard Jarrett Culver scored a career-high 21 points as Texas Tech beat Wofford 79-56 on Wednesday night.

Culver, a 6-foot-5 freshman from Lubbock's Coronado High, had a layup that made it 7-6 and put the Red Raiders (5-0) ahead to stay after he was an early substitution into the game. He later made consecutive 3-pointers that started a 23-2 run over an eight-minute span that stretched their lead to 40-12.

"Focusing more on defense than offense really helps a lot," Culver said. "I came out focused on my defense and trying to be aggressive. I guess that transferred to my shot falling."

Keenan Evans added 12 points for the Red Raiders, who built a 50-22 halftime lead and had no player in the game more than 23 minutes. Texas Tech was 5-of-6 on 3-pointers and shot 57 percent overall from the field before halftime.

Nathan Hoover scored 16 points to lead Wofford (3-3), including eight consecutive points early in the second half. But the Terriers never got closer than 19 points after halftime.

Fletcher Magee added 14 points for Wofford.

"I watched their game with Northwestern live," Terriers coach Mike Young said. "Northwestern is really good. They destroyed Northwestern. Like everybody else, if they're making shots, it's a pretty easy game. They made shots in that game and got some down here."

BIG PICTURE

Wofford: Texas Tech became the second school from a major conference to hand the Terriers an early-season loss. South Carolina, a Final Four participant last season, beat Wofford 73-52 in the season opener.

Texas Tech: Second-year coach Chris Beard's club avoided a letdown after defeating then-No. 20 Northwestern 85-49 on a neutral floor Sunday. The Red Raiders began the week just outside getting into the AP Top 25, with the second-most votes of teams that didn't break into the poll.

ODIASE RECOVERY

Beard touted the win as another milestone in junior center Norense Odiase's recovery from a season-ending foot injury last year. Odiase had nine points and seven rebounds while playing 20 minutes.

"He's finally starting to come back," Beard said. "Almost has a double-double in 20 minutes of playing time. I'm just thankful for everybody helping to get Norense back."

SENIOR LEADERSHIP

Texas Tech trotted out a starting lineup of five seniors. Wofford's lone senior, Derrick Brooks, played only four minutes.

FOR CORKY

Texas Tech debuted a special warmup shirt and will have a patch on its jersey by the next game for campus stalwart Gerald "Corky" Oglesby, who died after a battle with cancer Sunday. Oglesby was a basketball assistant from 1969-75, and the school's track coach from 1975-96.

UP NEXT

Wofford gets closer to home with a game Sunday at North Carolina-Ashville.

Texas Tech spends Thanksgiving at home and hosts Savannah State on Saturday. The Red Raiders play Seton Hall next week at Madison Square Garden.

---

For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-Top25