Texas Tech holds off Northern Kentucky 75-69

"Jaye's been great," Texas Tech coach Chris Walker said. "I thought he got a little bit antsy to start the game. I told him to relax. Don't forget what got you here, be patient."

Josh Gray added 14 points for Texas Tech. Walker said Gray responded to his coaching after Saturday's loss to No. 8 Arizona, and as a result played better tonight.

"If I tell you to do a certain thing, it's for you to be successful, not to take away from your game," Walker said.

Eshaunte Jones led the Norse (0-6) with 16 points, going 4 of 7 from behind the 3-point line. Tyler White added 14 points, while Jack Flournoy and Chad Jackson added 13.

The Red Raiders built an 11-point lead, with a 14-0 run early in the first half, but allowed the Norse to close it to five just after halftime.

The Red Raiders responded with a 15-0 run early in the second half, which put them ahead by 20 points.

"We got casual," Walker said. "We were up 20, and that's just a young team — we don't know how to play with the lead."

The Norse cut the lead to as few as six points in the final minute but weren't able to completely close the gap.

Texas Tech grabbed an early lead and kept it. The Norse chipped away at the lead for the whole second half and finally cut it under double digits in the final few minutes.