Kevin Obanor, De'Vion Harmon, Pop Isaacs Lead Texas Tech To Win Over Eastern Washington

When things were looking bad on Tuesday night, Texas Tech men's basketball coach Mark Adams made a crucial change in the first half against Eastern Washington.

The Red Raiders senior sophomore asked his players to play inside to pass the ball to the post and see how the Eagles responded defensively.

Kevin Obanor is a philanthropist.

Senior forward Obanor had a season-high 25 points and 10 rebounds, while De'Vion Harmon had 19 points and a career-best six steals to help Texas Tech beat Eastern Washington 77-70. Tuesday at United Supermarkets Arena.

"I mean, we knew we had a mismatch at that position," said Obanor, who had his sixth double-double of the season and 16 points in the final 20 minutes. "Thank you to the coaches for understanding... The coaches and players are well informed because they trust me to leave the ball."

The inside game was a late-season vision for Adams and the coaches for the Red Raiders, a trio of talented seniors highlighted by Obanor and aided by linebacker Daniel Batcho and Utah Valley's Fardavs Aimak.

But things took a turn late in the season when Aimack broke his leg, forcing him to miss most of the season, and Batcho missed Tuesday's game with a left foot injury. Batcho, wearing Aimaq-style hiking boots, sprained his ankle late in last week's win over Nicholls.

To further complicate matters, Aimack put his name on the NCAA's transfer portal on Wednesday, according to a report by The Stadium's Jeff Goodman.

Aimaq, a two-time WAC Player of the Year, averaged 18.9 points and 13.6 rebounds per game at Utah Valley before retiring last season. They approached Arkansas, Houston, Texas Tech and Houston before settling on the Red Raiders.

The decision to move for the second time means the Red Raiders will have to rely heavily on the duo of Obanor and Batcho to continue the young team's upward trajectory in the Big 12 Conference.

On Tuesday night, Texas Tech will do whatever it takes to stay in the paint or dominate the contest in the passing game. Eastern Washington also found opportunities to score inside, as well as find open shooters behind the 3-pointer.

The Eagles shot 6:15 from the three-point line in the first half before going into the locker room with the Red Raiders down 29:29.

The game turned around a bit when Obanor set up in the post and used some blocks and angles to put a simple bucket under the basket.

"Part of that is because it's still very wide open," Adams said of Obanori and playing inside. "He's trying to get people to see him in the movies. The strength of this team is getting the ball to KO and Daniel Batcho. If he comes back I think with Fardavs.

"It's really about emphasizing the post-conversion ... I think we had some good plays that got us the ball and some of those were big plays that changed the game."

There were some game-changing plays on defense, as Lamar Washington made a steal to lead Texas Tech 40-38, 52-45 in the second half.

The 6-foot-4 athlete became more aggressive on defense as he became familiar with the Red Raiders' centerless scheme. Hamon also came up big, getting six steals to celebrate in the entire competition until last summer.

"I mean, I just bring toughness," Harmon said. "I know what I'm capable of... If I set the tone for the guys on defense, and that's what I want to do. Defense wins games."

With the win, the Red Raiders (7-2) extended their home hitting streak to 27 and defeated the Struggling Eagles (4-6) late in the contest.

Richard "Pop" Isaacs scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half, completing double-digit scoring for the Red Raiders.

Steele Venters finished with 26 points and led the EWU offense on 5-of-10 shooting from the three-point line. Angelo Allegri (14 points) and Ethan Price (11 points) helped the Eagles finish 11 of 28 from the three-point line.

"Nice win, recognition for Eastern Washington," Obanor said. "It's a very good team, a very long team... It was much closer than I wanted.

"It's just a trip. We have a lot of new players and that starts with me. We just need to improve, but it was a tough win. I'm still happy with him."

Up next: Texas Tech hosts Jackson State on Saturday at 2:45 p.m. at a neutral site at Houston's Delmar Fieldhouse as part of the HBCU Roundball Classic.

quick shot

• Aimaq Technology Center in Fardaw, Texas reportedly entered its name on the transfer portal on Wednesday. According to Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers.com, the 6-foot-10 post is also expected to suit up soon.

This article appeared in the Lubbock Avalanche Journal. Kevin Obanor doubles for Tech to beat EMU; The Fardavs are said to have been taken to Aimak