Atwell's performance at Colorado continues breakout stretch for Red Raiders
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LUBBOCK, Texas — There is no question who was player of the game for Texas Tech Saturday night when the Red Raiders defeated Colorado.
Transfer guard Donovan Atwell extended his stretch of double-digit scoring performances with a team-high 17 points while drilling five three point attempts.
The senior by way of UNC-Greensboro has started each of Tech's first 16 games of the season while averaging nearly 12 points per game including a career-high 42% from three.
When Atwell's team needed him most against Colorado, he answered twice in the second half in stopping a 9-0 Colorado run at the 5:58 mark of the second half. Then, he made another to extend the Red Raiders' lead to 69-58 with just over four minutes remaining.
McCasland noted how Atwell was able to hit big shots to stop Colorado’s runs and at the same time extend Red Raider leads, it became clear that he is a true chess piece for this team.
“[Atwell] had four assists and no turnovers," McCasland said after the game. "He had two huge threes late in that game that felt like it just settled us. Because we didn’t have a ball go in for a good stretch, and when we did have a good angle we missed it, or we got fouled and went to the free throw line and shot 40 percent.
"It looked like we didn’t want to go to the free throw line. We just got a long way to go to learn how to finish these basketball games, but I love the way we played in the first half and a majority of the second. At the 13 minute mark, we were in command of this game, and just got a lot to learn.”
Atwell's emergence comes at the right time as McCasland employs a shortened rotation mostly due to injuries and inexperience. All five of the Red Raiders' starters played at least 32 minutes with four of them accumulating four fouls apiece.
While JT Toppin and Christian Anderson have served as leaders for Texas Tech, there was a desperate need for others to step up. Atwell has spent his college career as a consistent guard at UNCG and was considered the No. 138 ranked available transfer in the portal this offseason, according to 247Sports.
In order to remain competitive in a loaded Big 12 Conference and even make a deep run through another NCAA Tournament, it's imperative McCasland's roster find more consistency within its starting lineup and its bench to spell Toppin and Anderson from carrying the load themselves.
Texas Tech will return to the hardwood Wednesday night as it is set to host the Utah Utes. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT and will air on Peacock.
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Jacob is a contributor to Texas Tech and a seasoned journalist with over eight years of covering college football on digital platforms. He also contributes to Arkansas On SI and has previous writing experience at Saturday Down South and SB Nation. He is a graduate of Southern Arkansas University.
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