Texas Tech catches fire in second half of 15-point win over USC

Jarrett Culver and Tariq Owens had 18 points apiece to lead four players in double-figures scoring, and Texas Tech rallied from a big first-half hole to beat USC 78-63 in the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Classic at Spring Center on Monday night.

Davide Moretti and Matt Mooney each added 17 points for the Red Raiders (4-0), who advanced to Tuesday night’s championship game against former Big 12 foe Nebraska.

Texas Tech was cold from the opening tip, and USC used a 10-0 run to build a 30-17 lead late in the first half. But the Red Raiders finally got on track out of the locker room, using a 14-2 charge to take their first lead since the opening minutes.

Texas Tech wound up going 16 of 19 from the field in the second half and pulled away with a parade to the foul line

Kevin Porter Jr. had 15 points and Bennie Boatwright added 14 for the Trojans (2-2).

“We played a pretty good first half, we played very good defense, we shared the ball,” Trojans coach Andy Enfield said. “They did a great job of making open shots and they made some tough shots in the second half. They shot over 80 percent from the field and they were getting to the foul line.

“It was frustrating,” Enfield said, “because we couldn’t get the fouls ourselves.”

HALL OF FAME

Houston star Otis Birdsong, North Carolina standout Sam Perkins and Sidney Moncrief of Arkansas led the eight-member class inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame earlier in the weekend.

USC’s Paul Westphal, Morgan State star Marvin Webster and Arizona’s Sean Elliott along with longtime coaches Danny Miles of small-college Oregon Tech and John Kresse of College of Charleston were also inducted during ceremonies ahead of the tournament.

SHOTTRACKER

The tournament was the first time ShotTracker was used in competition. The system uses balls with embedded sensors to provide live, advanced analytics for coaches and fans alike. Several schools have used ShotTracker in practice but Monday night was the first time it was used in games.