Tech ‘wins’ twice

LUBBOCK, Texas – Engulfed by a tidal wave of screaming Texas Tech fans, Elston Turner prayed for a miracle.

The Washington guard missed a pair of free throws with 5 seconds left in regulation and watched as Red Raiders forward Mike Singletary raced up the court and sank an off-balance 3-pointer as time expired to ignite pandemonium at the United Spirit Arena.

“I was just thinking, ‘Don’t foul him,’ ” Turner said. “Then I was hoping he got the shot off late.”

Officials determined Singletary’s shot didn’t beat the buzzer. The Huskies (5-1) were given a second chance.

In overtime, however, Texas Tech outscored Washington 10-3 in the final 1:25 to upset the 12th-ranked Huskies 99-92 in a Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series matchup.

Despite a career-high 31 points from forward Quincy Pondexter, Washington (5-1) suffered its first defeat in its first road game in front of 9,912 and a national ESPN2 audience.

“I thought, ‘OK, now we’re going win this,’ ” Pondexter said. “We had so many chances to win. We blew chances, but now we had overtime and were going to get it done.”

Pondexter was intent on carrying the Huskies to a win. He scored eight points and sank 4 of 5 free throws in the extra period.

The Huskies were undone by mistakes and a critical errant pass in the final minute.

Trailing 91-89 with 48 seconds left, Matthew Bryan-Amaning threw an inbounds pass to Venoy Overton that was intercepted by Tech’s John Roberson, who scored on an uncontested layup.

On the next possession, UW’s Isaiah Thomas – who had 18 points on 4-for-15 shooting – missed a long jumper and the Huskies were forced to foul to extend the game.

Texas Tech (8-0) made four free throws and scored on a layup to preserve the win.

Roberson led Tech with 25 points. Brad Reese added 17, Singletary had 16, and Nick Okorie and Darko Cohadarevic each had 10.

Washington overcame a 10-point first-half deficit and trailed 50-41 at halftime, but it had several chances to steal the game in regulation.

Texas Tech 99, (12) Washington 92 (OT)

 Washington (5-1)- Bryan-Amaning 4-6 2-3 10, Pondexter 10-17 11-13 31, Overton 4-5 1-3 9, Thomas 4-15 9-13 18, Turner 6-12 0-2 15, Gaddy 0-1 0-0 0, Trent 1-1 0-0 2, Suggs 0-1 0-0 0, Holiday 0-1 0-1 0, Breshers 0-0 0-0 0, Gant 3-5 1-1 7. Totals 32-64 24-36 92.

Texas Tech (8-0)- Roberts 3-6 2-2 8, Cohadarevic 5-8 0-0 10, Singletary 5-16 6-10 16, Roberson 6-10 13-13 25, Okorie 2-6 5-6 10, Reese 6-11 2-4 17, Davis 0-0 0-2 0, Tairu 4-6 1-2 9, Lewandowski 1-1 0-0 2, Jenkins 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 33-69 29-39 99.

Halftime—Texas Tech 50-41. End Of Regulation—Tied 80. 3-Point Goals—UW 4-15 (Turner 3-7, Thomas 1-4, Suggs 0-1, Pondexter 0-3), Texas Tech 4-12 (Reese 3-5, Okorie 1-2, Jenkins 0-1, Roberson 0-2, Singletary 0-2). Fouled Out—Cohadarevic, Gant, Overton, Roberts, Singletary. Rebounds—UW 37 (Gant 9), Texas Tech 42 (Singletary 12). Assists—Washington 9 (Overton 3), Texas Tech 18 (Roberson 7). Total Fouls—UW 31, Texas Tech 27. Technicals—Breshers, Thomas, Roberts. A—9,912.