An ejection. Multiple technical fouls. Fans throwing debris on the court. Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland getting on the mic and telling fans to stop throwing objects.
Just another chapter of the Texas-Texas Tech rivalry at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock on Tuesday night.
“It’s got to stop,” McCasland said over the microphone. “Nothing else on the floor.”
Tensions boiled over when Texas Longhorns forward Brock Cunningham was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game. At the 10:17 mark in the second half, Cunningham body checked Texas Tech sophomore guard Darrion Williams near the scorer’s table at half court, as both players ran after the loose ball. Pushing and shoving involving players from both teams ensued.
Fans at United Supermarkets Arena began to loudly boo when Cunningham was ejected from the game. They began throwing objects on the court. The ESPN broadcast showed six officers escorting a spectator out of the arena. The referees issued Texas Tech an administrative technical foul for fans throwing debris on the court.
This prompted McCasland to get on the microphone in an attempt to calm the hostile crowd.
“Everything that gets thrown on the floor, we’re going to get a technical foul,” McCasland said.
Texas thumped Texas Tech 81-69, handing the Red Raiders their third loss in the last four games. After the game, McCasland said the reason for going to the mic was not just to address the entire crowd but to talk to “a couple of people that are doing things that are completely unacceptable.”
“Unfortunately, I thought the decisions of a few people impacted everybody,” McCasland said.
Texas coach Rodney Terry said that he considered bringing his team to the locker room when the debris was thrown toward the Longhorns bench. He praised McCasland for restoring order.
“Some coaches won’t do that,” Terry said. “He did that. Kudos to him … He’s a man with a lot of character.”
The Longhorns improved to 18-10 and are seventh in the Big 12. Dylan Disu led the Longhorns in scoring with 21 points.
Cunningham had nine points and seven rebounds before getting ejected. As he ran off the court to a chorus of boos, he flashed the “Hook’em Horns” signal to the Texas Tech crowd. A fitting conclusion to a raucous edition of the Texas-Texas Tech showdown — the last regular-season meeting between the teams before the Longhorns move to the SEC.
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(Photo: Annie Rice / USA Today)
