LUBBOCK, Texas—David Tairu scored 19 points to lead Texas Tech past Oregon State in the Duel in the Desert tournament Sunday.
The Beavers battled back from a double-digit deficit to pull even with the Red Raiders (3-0) at 50-50 with 4:11 remaining in the game.
The score stayed close until Tairu and Mike Singletary hit back-to-back 3s to put the Red Raiders ahead 60-54 with 59 seconds remaining, putting the game out of reach for Oregon State (1-2).
Seth Tarver scored 17 points to lead the Beavers.
Tairu, who was named MVP of the tournament, was 6-of-11 from the field and hit 4 of 5 from beyond the arc. The Beavers outrebounded the Red Raiders 35 to 23. Joe Burton of Oregon State led with nine rebounds.
Texas Tech went up 25-11 in the first half but the Beavers slowly crept back. Six Red Raiders turnovers helped Oregon State put together an 11-5 run to close the half. Freshman Mike Davis hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Texas Tech a 30-24 lead at the break.
Roeland Schaftenaar, Joe Burton and Calvin Hayes started to click in the second half to keep the Beavers close. Oregon State took its first lead since early in the game when Schaftenaar hit a jumper and a free throw for a 47-45 lead with 6:52 remaining.
Tairu hit two free throws for the game’s first tie, 50-50, before Hayes hit two field goals. Texas Tech’s D’walyn Roberts and Darko Cohadarevic then scored consecutive field goals before Singletary and Tairu hit their 3s to seal the win.
