Cruz Davis Scores 20 as No. 16 Texas Tech Holds Off No. 3 Illinois 84-78

LUBBOCK, Texas. Cruz Davis scored 20 points, Jamichael Stillwell added 11 points and 13 rebounds off the bench, and No. 16 Texas Tech held off a second-half charge from No. 3 Illinois for an 84-78 win Tuesday night at United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders improved to 3-0 and never trailed. Illinois fell to 2-1.

Davis went 7 of 16 from the field and 3 of 6 from 3-point range in 38 minutes, and he made the midrange pullups that kept Illinois from completing the comeback. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn scored 15 points, Donovan Atwell had 13 points and five steals, and Damarion Dennis added 10 off the bench. Stillwell was 2 of 10 from the field but 7 of 8 at the line and grabbed six offensive rebounds in a 26-minute shift that helped Texas Tech win the glass 43-32.

Quentin Coleman led Illinois with 19 points on 7 of 9 shooting, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range. Andrej Stojakovic scored 18, and Tomislav Ivisic had 14 points and six rebounds. The Fighting Illini shot 50 percent from the field and outscored Texas Tech 49-35 in the second half, but they went 8 of 19 at the free throw line and 10 of 34 from 3. Texas Tech was 23 of 26 at the line (88 percent), took 18 offensive rebounds, forced 16 turnovers and scored 19 points off those mistakes.

Texas Tech scored first and led almost the entire night in front of 15,098 at United Supermarkets Arena. Bassala Bagayoko and Gibbs-Lawhorn opened with layups, and Davis hit 3s on consecutive early possessions. Illinois tied it at 17-17 on a Coleman 3 with 11:45 left in the first half, the only time the game was even after the opening basket. The Red Raiders then pulled away. Stillwell scored around the basket and at the line, Gibbs-Lawhorn finished a 26-foot 3 from Davis with 1:04 left in the half, and Texas Tech took a 49-29 lead into the locker room. That 22-point margin was the largest of the night.

Illinois came out of the break looking like the team that had averaged 116 points through two games. Stojakovic opened the second half with a 3, Lincoln Williams scored inside, and the Illini chipped the lead to 58-48 on a Zavier Zens jumper. Coleman then hit 3s on back-to-back possessions to make it 61-54, and Ivisic's three-point play with 9:13 remaining cut the deficit to 61-57.

The Fighting Illini kept coming. Stefan Vaaks scored in the lane to make it 63-60, and Stojakovic's layup with 5:37 left brought Illinois within 65-64, the closest it had been since the first-half tie. Dennis answered with a 26-foot 3, Atwell hit another from 27 feet, and Davis knocked down pullup jumpers at 2:17 and 1:29. Every time Illinois got a look, Texas Tech had a response at the line or from the perimeter.

Coleman made a 28-foot 3 with 1:58 left to make it 75-70, and Vaaks added another 3 at 0:44 to cut it to 78-73. Stillwell made two free throws, Coleman hit another 3 at 0:34 to make it 80-76, and Atwell made two free throws with 29 seconds left. After Atwell turned the ball over, Vaaks missed a 25-foot 3, Darrion Williams made two free throws with 14 seconds remaining for an 84-76 lead, and Coleman's dunk at 0:06 was too late.

Grant McCasland's team entered the night on a 48-game non-conference home winning streak, including 25-0 in those games under the current coach, according to Texas Tech's official preview. Tuesday's win extended that streak. The Red Raiders had opened 2-0 with a 76-42 victory over Jackson State and a 76-58 win over Bethune-Cookman, and they rose to No. 16 in the AP poll on Monday. Cruz Davis entered averaging 15.0 points through two games. He led them again in a different kind of night, one that required late-game scoring after Illinois had erased nearly all of a 22-point hole.

Illinois, picked to win the Big Ten in its preseason, had opened with a 120-45 win over FDU and a 112-70 win over Penn. Brad Underwood's club never led Tuesday, and the free throw disparity was decisive. The Illini also could not keep Texas Tech off the offensive glass. Those 18 second-chance opportunities, plus 13 steals, were enough for Texas Tech to survive 40 percent shooting from the field.

It was the second meeting in a home-and-home series. Illinois won the first, 81-77, on Nov. 11, 2025, in Champaign. Tuesday's result evened the all-time series at 1-1.

Texas Tech hosts Stonehill on Saturday at noon CT (1 p.m. ET) at United Supermarkets Arena. Illinois hosts Sam Houston on Friday at 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) at State Farm Center.

For the full numbers, see the ESPN box score (opens in a new tab) and play-by-play (opens in a new tab), plus Texas Tech's game preview (opens in a new tab) and Illinois' preview of the ranked road game (opens in a new tab). Official recaps had not been posted at the time this story was published.

Sources: ESPN, Texas Tech Athletics, Illinois Athletics. More men's college basketball coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Gabby Hutter / Texas Tech Athletics (file photo from Nov. 5, 2026, vs. Bethune-Cookman)