LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- Dejan Kravic scored 13 points and had 5 rebounds to lead Texas Tech to a 79-57 over Central Arkansas on Sunday.
Jaye Crockett, Jordan Tolbert and Toddrick Gotcher each added 10 points for the Red Raiders.
Oliver Wells led Central Arkansas (2-5) with 14 points, shooting 4 of 6 from 3-point range while Jalen Jackson and Deshone McClure each added 11 points.
The teams traded the lead five times early in the first half until a Kader Tapsoba jumper ultimately regained the lead for the Red Raiders, 23-22, with 6:08 remaining. Robert Turner and Aaron Ross scored Texas Tech's (7-3) next 13 points, helping them take a 39-26 lead into the half.
The Bears stormed out the second half on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 39-33 with 17:19 left in the game until Kravic scored eight consecutive points allowing Tech to pull away. Ten of Kravic's 13 points came in just six minutes of play in the second half as the Red Raiders' leading scorer only played nine minutes total. Gotcher also came off the bench with a hot hand shooting 4 of 5 from the field and 2 of 3 from 3-point range.
Once the Red Raiders took a double-digit lead, they picked up the pace and piled on the points. As a team, Tech had 11 steals and 17 assists which resulted in 32 points off of turnovers.
With 8:31 left in the game, a Toddrick Gotcher pass that resulted in a Kravic alley-oop layup, ignited a 12-0 run for the Red Raiders and helped them pull ahead 61-39. They eventually built the lead up to as much as 26 on a Tapsoba dunk with 6:01 left in the game.
Texas Tech, which had a clear height advantage at nearly every position, out-rebounded UCA 36 to 25 and scored 40 points in the paint to UCA's 18.
UCA shot 47 percent, 9 of 19, from the 3-point range, compared to Tech only hit 4 of 16 threes. Aubrey Ball hit on 3 of 5 3-pointers to add nine more points for the Bears.
The Red Raiders attributed their slow start to their 11-day break leading up to the game. Wednesday night they'll host an LSU team that is currently 6-2.
