LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — JT Toppin scored 27 points and had nine rebounds as No. 20 Texas Tech outlasted Wyoming for a 76-72 win Sunday that extended the Red Raiders' non-conference home winning streak to 44 games.
LeJuan Watts added 19 points and Christian Anderson 15 for the Red Raiders (6-2).
Leland Walker had 28 points and was the only player scoring in double figures for Wyoming (6-2). He had a 3-pointer to make it 75-72 before a timeout with 8.8 seconds left.
The Cowboys lost 96-49 in Lubbock early last season, but this game had eight ties and seven lead changes.
Texas Tech led 36-26 on Toppin’s layup with 2:49 left in the first half, then went more than 7 1/2 minutes without a field goal. The Red Raiders missed their last three shots before halftime and started the second half 0 for 6 until Watts’ jumper with 15:07 tied the game at 41.
Wyoming’s only lead after that was on a layup by Uriyah Rojas with 7:38 left that made it 56-55. Toppin, the preseason AP All-America junior forward, then scored on consecutive possessions for the Red Raiders, a putback layup and a fastbreak layup, part of his 10 points in that closing stretch.
The Red Raiders haven't lost a non-conference home game since an overtime loss to No. 15 Kentucky in January 2020. The only teams with longer active streaks are Auburn at 67 and Big 12 foe Baylor with 47. Third-year Tech coach Grant McCasland is 21-0 at home in non-conference home games.
Wyoming is home Saturday against Dartmouth College. Texas Tech plays LSU next Sunday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
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