The Red Raiders faced the Oklahoma Sooners on Wednesday night at the United Spirit Arena in what was a hard fought basketball game, but they could not hang on for the win.
The final score was 86-71, and Steven Pledger led the Sooners to victory with 22 points. OU’s Romero Osby also added 21 points of his own.
Oklahoma’s head coach, Lon Kruger, said he thinks his team made a lot of good plays and shot the ball well on Wednesday.
“The guys really moved the ball well,” Kruger said. “I thought they made the extra pass, they shot the ball with confidence, and they made a lot of good plays for one another.”
Even though his team did not win, Tech point guard Josh Gray had a great game. Gray had 26 points, 5 assists, 1 turn over, and 4 steals during the game.
Kruger said he was very impressed with Gray’s performance, and Sam Grooms offered Gray a few words of advice and a post-game hug.
“He’s just a terrific player,” Kruger said. “He’s a guy that keeps pressure on you all the time, he’s very quick with the ball, and he’s got a good ability to get into the paint and finish plays. He’s very tough to stay in front of.”
“When I hugged him I told him to keep his head up and said just because it doesn’t look good right now doesn’t mean it won’t look good in the future,” Grooms said. “I told him to keep playing as hard as he can because people see that. Perception is reality for him right now.”
Gray said having a night like Wednesday felt great, but thinks it doesn’t really matter because the Raiders didn’t get the win.
“I just came into this game to play ball like I normally play,” Gray said. “I’m still learning every day, I’m still in coach’s office watching film with him, and I’m trying to stand out.”
Gray said he knows no body on the team likes losing, and he plans to continue to work every day.
“It’s hard on all of the players, but we’ve got to keep working and keep fighting as a team because we’re family,” Gray said. “And that’s what families do, they keep working, so that’s what were going to do.”
Jaye Crockett said he also thinks Gray is doing great things and has come a long way since last summer.
“He’s been learning every day, and when you talk to him he listens,” Crockett said. “He’s just trying to get better as a player and as a person, so I mean I’m really proud of him.”
Crockett said Gray was hot during the game, and the team was playing off of his energy on the court.
“He was getting easy buckets, he was getting steals, he was playing defense,” Crockett said, “but we just couldn’t pull it off.”
Texas Tech head coach Chris Walker said he thought Oklahoma played very efficient basketball on Wednesday, and they made the majority of their shots.
“I thought we were competitive tonight, and I told the guys after the game that they are playing hard, but the smart factor is what we’re missing,” Walker said. “We have a crutch where it isn’t a talent level, it’s a toughness level for us.”
Walker said it was good to see Gray play so well in Wednesday’s game, and he thinks that it was an unbelievable game for a freshman.
“I’d like to see any other freshman in the country who has actually had that game,” Walker said, “but because Gray commands so much attention, we have to be able to get him to make plays for other people.”
Walker said he believes that Gray will be able to make those plays as he gains more experience at the collegiate level.
“You can’t rush experience,” Walker said. “Gray can dominate the game physically, but he’s not ready to dominate it mentally.”
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