Sam Houston State was within a touchdown’s reach of Texas Tech and went into the locker room at halftime trailing by 11.
The Bearkats hoped to close the deficit to four opening the second half on offense.
However, three plays into the third quarter, Texas Tech cornerback J.J. Gaines picked off Jared Johnson’s pass and ran it 47 yards for a touchdown to increase the Red Raiders’ lead to 18.
From that point on, the Bearkats couldn’t get back into much of an offensive rhythm, scoring two times in the fourth quarter in a 59-45 loss.