NEW YORK (AP)—Justin Gray started out the night slowly, but hit the big shot when he needed to for Wake Forest.
Gray hit a jumper to force a second overtime and then scored four of his 18 points in the extra session to lift No. 19 Wake Forest to a 78-73 victory over Texas Tech in the consolation game of the 2K Sports College Hoop Classic on Friday night.
“Gray never met a shot he didn’t like,” Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser said.
Gray struggled from the field, going just 5-for-18. He didn’t make his first basket until connecting for a 3-pointer with 14:05 left in the second half. He also had 10 turnovers.
“This team is aging me,” said Prosser, who lost all three overtime games last season.
He has already won two, beating George Mason 83-78 in the first round of the tournament.
Gray sent the game into the second overtime, hitting a 25-footer with 3.7 seconds left to tie it at 66.
“We were dead in the water and we hit a big shot,” Prosser said.
Gray also made a tough fall-away baseline jumper with 23.7 seconds remaining to give Wake Forest (3-1) a 75-70 lead.
After Jarrius Jackson’s 3-pointer pulled Texas Tech to 75-73, Gray hit two free throws to extend the lead to four. Jackson missed a 3-pointer from the wing before Trent Strickland’s free throw provided the final margin.
“They were able to capitalize on their chances,” Texas Tech coach Bob Knight said. “In the overtime, they came back and made big plays to carry on and give them a chance. It really was a good game for whoever won and a tough one for whoever lost.”
Jackson led Texas Tech (2-2) with 27 points, but he was 10-for-28 from the field. He hit a 12-footer in the lane with 4.9 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 58 and force overtime.
Martin Zeno added 23 points for the Red Raiders. He was 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the first overtime, including two that gave Texas Tech a 66-63 lead with just under 15 seconds left. Gray then caught the ball on the wing and hit the 3-pointer that sent the game to a second overtime.
“We had chances to win in regulation and overtime,” said Knight.
Texas Tech’s offensive woes continued as it shot only 31.7 percent from the field (26-for-82). A night after shooting 29 percent against Syracuse, the Red Raiders went scoreless for 9:36 during the first half as Wake Forest used a 13-0 run to take a 31-24 halftime lead.
“I think we improved with our effort,” Knight said. “We still made some mistakes in the technical part of the game.”
Wake Forest dominated the boards, outrebounding Texas Tech 66-45.
“Rebounds show how tough we played tonight,” Prosser said.
Strickland and Kyle Visser each had 16 points and 16 rebounds for Wake Forest.
