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JT Toppin scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Christian Anderson added 18 points to lead the visiting Texas Tech Red Raiders to an 81-71 Big 12 win over the host Cincinnati Bearcats Tuesday night.

Chance McMillian chipped in 17 points and Kevin Overton added 14 for Texas Tech, which scored seven straight points to take a 75-63 lead with 3:42 left. The Red Raiders (14-4, 5-2) have won three straight games and five of their last six. They are also 4-0 on the road in league play.

Jizzle James had 17 points to lead Cincinnati (12-6, 2-5), which had won two straight Big 12 games for the first time since joining the conference last season. Dillon Mitchell had 12 points and Simas Lukosius added 10 for the Bearcats, who converted just 3 of 14 3-point attempts (21.4 percent).

Texas Tech drained 12 of 31 shots (38.7 percent) from 3-point range to fend off several second-half charges from Cincinnati. Anderson, McMillian and Overton combined to go 10-for-18 from deep for the Red Raiders.

The Bearcats closed within five points with 6:16 left in the second half before Texas Tech pulled away, with Toppin scoring five points during the 7-0 flurry. Cincinnati never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

Toppin scored 14 points in the second half, while McMillian added 12.

With temperatures in the single digits outside, both teams heated up from the floor in the first half.

The Bearcats made 15 of 25 overall from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including 9 of 11 to close out the half.

Texas Tech was also sharp to start the game, making seven in a row at one point, and finished the half 15-of-29. The Red Raiders drilled 8 of 17 attempts from 3-point range before halftime, including a 7-for-8 stretch.

Cincinnati jumped ahead 12-5 before Texas Tech pulled even at 18 on Anderson’s 3-pointer with 8:56 left in the first half. The Bearcats held a slim lead for the next few minutes before Anderson’s third triple of the half put the Red Raiders up 42-35. James responded with a 3 to close Cincinnati within 42-38 at halftime.

Texas Tech used a 10-2 run early in the second half to open their first double-digit lead at 54-43. The Bearcats closed to within 68-63 on Tyler Betsey’s 3-pointer with 6:16 left.

–Field Level Media