LUBBOCK, Texas -- Keenan Evans scored 23 points, Justin Gray had his first career double-double and Texas Tech won its sixth straight, 89-46 over Nicholls State on Wednesday night.Gray finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Red Raiders (9-1), who shot 55 percent and outrebounded the Colonels 43-18. Zach Smith and Niem Stevenson added 13 points apiece.Im not forcing it as much anymore, Evans said. Just letting the game come to me. Just letting it work through the offense.The Colonels (5-6) were led by 18 points and five rebounds from Jahvaughn Powell.Texas Techs (9-1) first half was punctuated by consecutive putback dunks from Gray and Smith. After Smiths dunk, which put Texas Tech up 33-15 with 6:22 left in the first half, the Colonels immediately took a timeout. Gray -- who recently returned to the team after attending his grandfathers funeral -- added another explosive putback dunk less than two minutes later, helping build the Red Raiders 45-23 halftime lead.I feel like we fed off it pretty good, Gray said of the dunks. Got the crowd into it. Especially during the timeout right after the first one. Everybody was kind of hyped up and it just made our overall environment in the arena crazy.Nicholls State shot 34 percent from the floor and lost the points off turnover margin 33-13 despite have just six more giveaways.The Red Raiders, which outscored Nicholls State in the paint 34-6, committed six fouls. The Colonels attempted six free throws while Texas Tech attempted 25.In our league, we cant let people get in the bonus early in the halves, Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. Not fouling is a big emphasis. We try to emphasize it in practice. We try to coach it well. I think we do.BIG PICTURENicholls State: The first game in Richie Rileys tenure as head coach of the Colonels was a 79-73 win at Atlantic Coast Conference-member Boston College in November but they have won consecutive games only once this season.Texas Tech: Smith was back in the starting lineup Wednesday. Smith, who averaged 11 points and seven rebounds, injured his ankle before the Dec. 7 game against Texas-San Antonio and was held out. Smiths presence aided the Red Raiders frontcourt, which saw recently-recovered Aaron Ross play sparingly and is still missing Norense Odiase because of an injury.TORRID 12Big 12 mens basketball teams have started the season with a combined 75-17 record. Ten of those losses were by single digits, including three in overtime.BIG DAYFor the first time in Big 12 history, its teams beat two top-five non-conference opponents on the same day when Kansas beat No. 1 Duke and Baylor beat No. 4 Oregon on Nov. 15.FAMILIARLY FOREIGNNicholls State has three players that hail from outside the United States: Luka Kamber (Germany), Liam Thomas (Australia) and Zach Young (New Zealand).UP NEXTNicholls State, which has played three Power 5 opponents this season, has two more games before it begins Southland Conference play. It hosts Mobile on Dec. 18.Texas Tech, starting with a game at Richmond on Saturday, has two more games before Big 12 play starts.Its a game that (former Texas Tech head coach Tubby Smith) scheduled, Beard said. I think they had Richmond here last year. Right when I got the job and saw the schedule, I loved the game. Richmond is an NCAA-tournament type team.Britton Colquitt Browns Jersey . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. Denzel Ward Jersey . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. http://www.brownsauthenticproshop.com/Youth-David-Njoku-Jersey/ . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. Joe Thomas Youth Jersey . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Ozzie Newsome Womens Jersey . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky.DALLAS -- When the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars meet Thursday night at American Airlines Center, both teams hope to have important contributors back on the ice.Colorado, which beat the visiting Los Angeles Kings 4-1 on Tuesday, is starting a three-game road trip. The Avalanche (7-8-0) might see the return of forward Matt Duchene, who leads the team with six goals and 11 points.Duchene missed the past two games with concussion symptoms.Meanwhile, the Stars (6-6-5) could get back center Cody Eakin, who has yet to play this season due to a knee injury he sustained during preseason.Duchene said after practice Wednesday, I feel good right now. Well see what (Wednesday) brings. I feel better every day. Today I felt like I could be myself out there.Avalanche coach Jared Bednar shares Duchenes optimism that the veteran could be back in the mix against Colorados Central Division rivals.As long as he feels good ... then he should be a player for us, Bednar said.Two Colorado players who scored in the win against the Kings, captain Gabriel Landeskog and defenseman Patrick Wiercioch, missed practice Wednesday, absences which Bednar termed as maintenance days.I think they both got dinged up just a little bit (Tuesday) night, Bednar said. I think theyre going to be fine, but were just going to keep them off the ice (Wednesday).One decision Bednar already made about Thursday is that Semyon Varlamov, who stopped 32 of 33 shots against the Kings, will start between the pipes.Hes played three really strong games here for us, Bednar said. We like what (Varlamov) has done lately, so were going to go with him again.Dallas started its three-game homestand with a 2-1 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, the Stars ninth consecutive OT defeat.Stars coach Lindy Ruff didnt like the energy level he saw from his team against the Devils, so he made both Wednesdays praactice and Thursdays morning skate optional.ddddddddddddThis is a physical grind, its a mental grind, Ruff said Wednesday. We had a team that lacked energy (Tuesday) night. Im going to try to switch things up maybe from game to game. I think it mentally freshens up our personnel.One player who was on the ice at the Stars practice facility in Frisco, Texas, on Wednesday was Eakin. He was a key faceoff man who centered Dallas top line for a good part of last season.Feeling pretty good, getting back to where I want to be, Eakin said after practice Wednesday.Ruff makes no secret of his love for Eakins game and what he brings to the ice for Dallas, qualities the Stars missed so far this season.Well, he is our guy that typically goes head to head with the other teams top player, Ruff said of Eakin. Hes probably our best down-low centerman. He brings some speed down the middle, which is important for our game.At some point this week, Dallas also figures to get back veteran forward Patrick Sharp, who missed the past 13 games due to a concussion he sustained Oct. 20 against the Kings.However, instead of seeing Sharp back on the ice against Colorado, it sounds like a more realistic scenario that his return would be Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers, according to Ruff.No matter whether Duchene returns for the Avalanche or Eakin is back on the ice for the Stars, the man behind the Dallas bench knows what sort of game is in store for both teams on Thursday evening.Well, I expect a desperate team, Ruff said of the Avalanche. Its a team that got off to a real good start, struggled a little bit, and now they seem to be going a little bit better. Theyve got good speed up front. I want to see our energy up. I want to see our puck possession up. ' ' '
