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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kerwin Walton scored a career-high 27 points and No. 3 seed Texas Tech attempted an NCAA Tournament-record 46 3-pointers in an 82-72 victory over No. 14 seed UNC Wilmington on Thursday night.
The Red Raiders raced to a 16-point lead, lost most of it by going cold in the final 6 1/2 minutes of the first half and then made enough plays down the stretch to recover after the Seahawks went ahead with about 14 minutes remaining.
Texas Tech (26-8) finished 13 for 46 behind the arc, breaking the tournament record of 43 attempts by Saint Joseph’s in a 1997 second-round game against Boston College. The 46 3s also set a school record.
“I felt like our grit and fight really showed late in the game,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “We felt like we’d have to win on the glass and play 50-50 basketball in order to give us a chance to win.
“We shot a lot of 3s; a lot of those were open.”
Elijah Hawkins contributed 14 points for the Red Raiders and Darrion Williams had 13 to set up a second-round matchup with No. 11 seed Drake on Saturday. Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin had 12 points and 10 rebounds for his 16th double-double of the season.
“All credit goes to Texas Tech, and I have lots of respect for the program and the team," UNC Wilmington coach Takayo Siddle said. “Texas Tech shot way more 3s than I thought they would. I was surprised by that, but I thought the ones they made were timely.”
Nolan Hodge scored 18 points for UNC Wilmington (27-8), the Coastal Athletic Association Champion. The Seahawks shot 41% from the floor.
UNC Wilmington: The Seahawks fought well to recover and take the lead but could never get it larger than one point.
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders shot just 27 for 69 (39%) from the floor and got a spark from Walton, who made eight 3-pointers.
“Most of the credit goes to Elijah Hawkins,” Walton said. “He knows exactly where to find me. I have great teammates that help me have a game like this.”
Texas Tech will play Saturday, looking to reach the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the last seven NCAA tournaments.
