SAN FRANCISCO –Darrion Williams scored on a driving layup with seven seconds left in overtime, putting the best possible finish on a rough individual night and lifting Texas Tech to an 85-83 victory over Arkansas on Thursday in an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 contest.
The third-seeded Red Raiders trailed the 10th-seeded Razorbacks by 16 midway through the second half and by 13 with 4:43 to play in regulation. Texas Tech advances to face top-seeded Florida in the West Region final on Saturday.
The OT layup by Williams capped a 20-point night on which he shot 8-for-26. However, also tied the game with a 3-pointer from well beyond the top of the arc with 9.7 second left in the second half. Williams also hit two layups during Texas Tech’s 16-3 run to end regulation.
Christian Anderson led Texas Tech with 22 points, while JT Toppin added 20, and both grabbed nine rebounds. Kevin Overton had 12 points off the Red Raiders’ bench.
Arkansas (22-14) had grabbed a 72-66 lead with 1:28 to go in the second half when Karter Knox picked up a loose ball and canned a corner 3-pointer after Toppin had the ball knocked away in his attempt to drive the lane. But Texas Tech outscored the Razorbacks 19-11 the rest of the way, including overtime.
Johnell Davis had a game-high 30 points for Arkansas, while Knox scored 20. D.J. Wagner added 13.
That the Red Raiders were able to crawl back at all had to do with their dominance on the glass after halftime. Texas Tech outrebounded Arkansas 27-17 in the second half, including 15-6 on the offensive glass. In one second-half sequence, Texas Tech grabbed three offensive rebounds before getting a putback basket.
A 15-6 run by the Razorbacks gave them a 59-43 lead and included a flurry that featured a Jonas Aidoo dunk and a thunderous dunk by Trevon Brazile that turned into a three-point play when he was fouled and made the free throw.
Texas Tech refused to concede. The Red Raiders scored 23 of the next 33 points over the next nine minutes to pull within 69-66 with 2:06 left.
Arkansas led by double digits for most of the first half, but a long 3-pointer by Williams cut the margin to 38-31 entering halftime.
