MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Jarrett Culver scored each of his 18 points in the second half, and No. 11 Texas Tech overcame some early shooting troubles to beat West Virginia 62-59 in their Big 12 opener Wednesday night.
Matt Mooney added 14 points and Davide Moretti scored 12 for Texas Tech (12-1, 1-0).
Lamont West led West Virginia (8-5, 0-1) with 22 points. Derek Culver finished with 12 points.
Each of Texas Tech’s previous wins came by double digits. The Red Raiders had to scrape and claw to earn this one.
The Red Raiders surrendered a nine-point lead in the second half. Moretti’s 3-pointer with 2:08 remaining put Texas Tech ahead for good, 55-54.
Culver, who played most of the game in foul trouble, scored six points in the final 41 seconds, and Moretti made one of two free throws with 3.3 seconds left for the final margin.
After Moretti missed the second free throw, West Virginia’s Brandon Knapper tossed up a 3-pointer near midcourt that hit the top of the backboard and bounced away.
BIG PICTURE
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders were playing their first game on an opponent’s home court this season and won despite shooting a season-low 38.2 percent, including 29 percent in the first half.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers have had trouble making baskets all season and not much worked against the nation’s second-stingiest defense. West Virginia was held to its third-lowest scoring output of the season.
UP NEXT
Texas Tech hosts Kansas State on Saturday.
West Virginia travels to Texas on Saturday. The Mountaineers play three of their next four games on the road.
---
More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25