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Wednesday, Feb. 9 8:00pm ET
Texas 76, Texas Tech 60 | |||||
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ If Texas Tech surrendered the rest of the season, would anyone notice? After yet another defeat, coach James Dickey isn't sure. ``You might think about putting up the white flag,'' Dickey said Wednesday night after the Red Raiders lost their eighth straight, 76-60 to No. 18 Texas. ``But I don't know if anybody would take it now.'' The Red Raiders (9-11, 0-9 Big 12) have been mired in their disastrous losing streak since mid-January. Soon after it started, center Andy Ellis, their leading scorer and rebounder, was lost for the season with a dislocated shoulder and torn cartilage. ``You just have to keep battling,'' said Dickey, whose team has played four straight game against ranked opponents. ``I don't like losing. It's a bad feeling.'' Texas Tech was ill-prepared to match up with Texas (16-6, 7-2) and its dominating center, Chris Mihm. Mihm, despite facing little resistance under the basket, stepped out to display a soft shooting touch with an array of short and midrange jumpers for 23 points and 15 rebounds. It was his 14th double-double of the season. Five Longhorns scored in double figures, and Texas turned 19 turnovers into 34 points. Texas led 40-24 at halftime and by as many as 30 points in the second half. Mihm, who scored six of Texas' first eight points, showed early on he could be deadly away from the basket. An air-ball on a 3-pointer was the only miscue. ``It's something we've worked on. I've said before that our big men could get stagnant down low, so I wanted to keep moving the ball and step up,'' said Mihm, who also had four assists. Texas registered eight blocks, including a stop by Mihm that stuffed a dunk attempt by Tech's Mario Layne. Layne, who led Tech with 20 points, drove hard to the basket, only to have Mihm go up with him, palm the ball, and take it away on the way down. Mihm had 17 points and nine rebounds by halftime and got his double-double with a defensive board on the first possession of the second half. ``Mihm was unbelievable,'' Layne said. ``At times, he was putting on a clinic. The other guys didn't have to be a factor. He did it all.'' Texas limited the Red Raiders to 10-of-32 shooting and two shot clock violations in the first half. ``I really thought the key was their defense was outstanding,'' Dickey said. ``Then Mihm did it with a turnaround jump shots and had a monster game.'' Tech, the leading free-throw shooting team in the Big 12, never got a chance to close the deficit from the line. The Red Raiders were just 9-of-16 from the line in the second half. Lawrence Williams hit two 3-pointers as Texas pushed the lead to 50-29. The Longhorns took their biggest lead at 63-33 on Ivan Wagner's 3-pointer with 11:42 left. Wagner scored 13 points for Texas, and Williams and Chris Owens each added 12. Gabe Muoneke, Texas' second-leading scorer and rebounder this season, did not start, but scored 10 points in 23 minutes.
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