No. 13 Texas Tech falls in double OT to No. 5 Kansas on road

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LAWRENCE, Kan. — Bryson Williams enjoys playing against Kansas.

The Texas Tech forward seems to up his game when he competes against the storied program — whether at his previous stop at UTEP or with his current team donning scarlet and black.

The trend continued for Williams, who poured in a season-best 33 points, while Kevin Obanor added 17 more, but it wasn't enough as the No. 13 Red Raiders suffered a 94-91 double-overtime loss to the No. 5 Jayhawks on Monday night in Allen Fieldhouse.

"I mean, we came to fight," Williams said following the loss. "Coming into Phog Allen (Fieldhouse). This is a hard place to play. You're playing against a legendary coach and playing against one of the most talented teams in the country — you've gotta come and bring it.

"And we came to do that tonight. We just fell short."

The loss prevented Texas Tech (15-5, 5-3) from becoming only the third Big 12 team to complete a regular-season sweep of a Bill Self-coached Kansas (17-2, 6-1).

"I thought we stood toe-to-toe with them," Texas Tech coach Mark Adams said. "We dug a hole for us, several times. At halftime, we were behind and got even further behind with about 10 to go but came back. ... I thought we were going win it in that first overtime."

Jayhawks guard Ochai Agbaji poured in a career-high 37 points, including a 3-point goal with seven seconds left in overtime to rescue his team from an 86-83 deficit. The 6-foot-5 senior went 7 of 12 from 3-point range.

"Trying to switch and trying to keep the ball out of his hands — trying everything we could," Adams said of the Agbaji game-tying 3-point to force the second overtime. "He just kept getting those shots off. We ran some different defense, gimmick defenses, did everything we could to try to stop him."

Williams was 4 of 4 from long range, including a 3 with 3:17 left in the second overtime that put Tech up 91-89, but the Red Raiders went scoreless on their last four possessions.

"I'm just coming out to fight, I've got teammates that believe in me, I've got a coaching staff that believes in me," Williams said about his play against Kansas, which includes a 26 points per game average in three contests. "And I just came out to be aggressive and just try to do whatever I can to help this team win."

After Kansas' K.J. Adams tied the score 91-91 on a layup with 1:49 left, Jalen Wilson made the second of two free throws at the 1:06 mark to put the Jayhawks ahead for good.

"Basketball, when you have two good teams that are playing, it's always a game of runs," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "That's what happens: ebbs and flows."

Obanor scored 11 in the last 8 1/2 minutes of regulation when the Red Raiders made up a 12-point deficit. T.J. Shannon's two free throws with 12 seconds left evened it 75-75 and ultimately forced overtime.

"The key was defense overall," Williams said of what allowed the Red Raiders to force the extra period. "We take pride in defense, that's what Texas Tech is all about. We knew that we had to bring it on the defensive end. We were trying to get stops to come back and get our offense rolling.

"That was our main focus: defense."

Obanor drained a pair of free throws to close what had been a 66-54 game down to 70-64 with 4:03 left.

On the ensuing possession, TTU's Marcus Santos-Silva fouled Kansas' David McCormack three-feet away from the basket as he attempted a turnaround shot. McCormack drained two free throws to extend Kansas' advantage to 72-64.

Obanor continued his stellar play down the stretch, going on a personal 4-0 run to close the gap to 74-72 following a layup through contact at the 1:29 mark.

After Shannon's tying free throws, Agbaji missed a 3 at the buzzer.

"Kind of like our game Saturday and the Chiefs game — overtime," Agbaji said of his thoughts following the victory. "When we went to overtime, I was just like, 'It's like the Chiefs game.' They won at all costs and we have to do the same thing

Jan 24, 2022; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders forward Bryson Williams (11) shoots as Kansas Jayhawks forward David McCormack (33) looks on during the first half at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: IMAGN-462497 ORIG FILE ID:  20220124_tdc_sm8_0229.JPG
Jan 24, 2022; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders forward Bryson Williams (11) shoots as Kansas Jayhawks forward David McCormack (33) looks on during the first half at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: IMAGN-462497 ORIG FILE ID: 20220124_tdc_sm8_0229.JPG

What's next?

No. 13 Texas Tech is scheduled to host Mississippi State at 5 p.m. Saturday in a Big 12/SEC Challenge contest set to be broadcast on ESPN2.

No. 5 Kansas is slated to host Kentucky at 5 p.m. Saturday in a game set to be broadcast on ESPN.

NO. 5 KANSAS 94, NO. 18 TEXAS TECH 91 (2OT)

TEXAS TECH (15-5, 5-3)

Obanor 6-8 4-6 17, Williams 14-19 1-1 33, McCullar 1-11 0-0 2, Shannon 1-10 3-4 5, Warren 5-9 4-6 15, M.Wilson 1-4 3-4 5, Santos-Silva 2-3 1-2 5, Arms 2-5 0-0 4, Batcho 1-2 1-1 3, Nadolny 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 34-73 17-24 91.

KANSAS (17-2, 6-1)

McCormack 3-5 7-8 13, J.Wilson 3-10 3-4 9, Agbaji 13-23 4-8 37, Braun 4-13 6-7 15, Harris 2-10 0-0 4, R.Martin 2-7 0-0 4, Adams 2-2 2-3 6, Lightfoot 2-2 0-0 4, Coleman-Lands 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 32-74 22-30 94.

Halftime_Kansas 36-30. 3-Point Goals_Texas Tech 6-20 (Williams 4-4, Warren 1-1, Obanor 1-3, Nadolny 0-1, Arms 0-2, McCullar 0-4, Shannon 0-5), Kansas 8-23 (Agbaji 7-12, Braun 1-6, Coleman-Lands 0-1, Harris 0-1, J.Wilson 0-3). Fouled Out_Warren. Rebounds_Texas Tech 34 (Obanor 8), Kansas 44 (J.Wilson 11). Assists_Texas Tech 14 (Warren 5), Kansas 18 (Braun 6). Total Fouls_Texas Tech 24, Kansas 19. A_16,300 (16,300).

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: No. 13 Texas Tech falls in double OT to No. 5 Kansas on road