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CANCUN, Mexico -- After getting off to a terrible start, Texas Tech coach Chris Beard knew the first possession of the second half carried extra significance.Zach Smith turned it into a highlight, game-shifting dunk and Anthony Livingston took over from there.Livingston had 28 points and nine rebounds, Smith scored 21 points and Texas Tech rallied to rout Utah State 75-51 Wednesday night in a consolation game of the Cancun Challenge.Texas Tech cut a 12-point first-half deficit to 32-30 at halftime when Beard drew up a play for Smith. Keenan Evans delivered a high pass toward the rim and Smith kept climbing. His emphatic slam brought the crowd to its feet.Hes a special player, with his athleticism. He can play in another part of the air space, Beard said. Sometimes a team will be playing good fundamental defense, but you throw the ball above a rim where other guys cant get it.It ignited a dominant 45-22 second half that included a game-ending 19-1 run.That was a well-drawn up play by the coaches. It got us going, Livingston said. The whole bench jumped up, the crowd got going and we feed off of that. We definitely needed that at the time.Livingston hit 5 of 9 3-pointers and Smith had four dunks on his way to hitting 9 of 10 shots. The Red Raiders (4-1) took third place in the Riviera Division despite finding out about an hour before tipoff that starter Aaron Ross (right leg) couldnt play.Ross scored 17 points Tuesday night in a semifinal loss to Auburn.Jalen Moore scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half for the Aggies (3-2), who raced to a 24-12 lead before fading in their second straight loss.I thought we had a great start. We played well on both ends of the floor and played with a lot of fight and played together, Utah State coach Tim Duryea said. But when the momentum swung at the end of the first half, we missed some shots and that mentality carried over to the defensive end.LIVINGSTON RESPONDSLivingston hit 10 of 16 shots after managing three points on 1-of-8 shooting a night earlier.That was probably one of the most disappointing nights in his playing career as was one of the most disappointing nights in my coaching career, Beard said. We had some real truth-telling sessions last night and this morning trying to get our team back on the same page and I thought Anthony really responded like a senior is supposed to.SECOND HALF DOMINANCETexas Tech shot 64.3 percent (19 of 28) in the second half while holding Utah State to 7-of-26 shooting.MOORE SLOWEDMoore started 3 of 4 from 3-point range before getting into first-half foul trouble. Beard said they changed to a more conservative defense in the second half.We changed our pick-and-roll coverages, Beard said. We had to stay on the shooter. Hes a pro.BIG PICTUREUtah State: Moore, a preseason all-Mountain West Conference selection, is clearly the go-to scorer and leader for Utah State. The Aggies collapsed offensively late in the first half without the senior on the floor and need to find other consistent options before conference play begins. Moore was also on the bench at the start of Texas Techs game-clinching 19-6 second-half run.Texas Tech: Poor starts and scoring droughts have to be concerning to Beard ahead of the SEC schedule. After a 12-minute dry spell Tuesday helped them fall behind by 19 points to Auburn in the semifinals, the Red Raiders went 8:14 without a hoop in the first half against Utah State. It took quite a while to adjust to Utah States zone, cut down on the poor passes and get better shots.UP NEXTUtah State: Will play in-state rival BYU next Wednesday in Salt Lake City.Texas Tech: Plays its next five games at home, starting Friday against Idaho State. The Red Raiders next road game is Dec. 17 at Richmond. Air Jordan 1 Chicago China .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Jordan 1 Bred Replica . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. http://www.bestfakejordan1.com/cheap-jordan-1-banned-outlet.html . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Wholesale Jordan 1 China . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. Jordan 1 China . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. The upcoming bowl games provide the Southeastern Conference a chance at redemption.A league that prides itself as the nations strongest has only one team -- No. 1 Alabama -- ranked higher than 17th in the Top 25 . The SEC went just 6-8 in nonconference games against other Power Five teams during the regular season, including a 3-6 mark against the Atlantic Coast Conference.With 12 of its 14 members playing in bowl games, this is a chance for the SEC to restore its reputation.We are the SEC, and obviously we have a higher benchmark than other conferences out there, Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason said. People expect certain things out of the SEC.Although the bowl season starts Dec. 17, SEC teams wont get involved until Dec. 26, when Mississippi State faces Miami (Ohio) in the St. Petersburg Bowl and Vanderbilt meets North Carolina State in the Independence Bowl .The SEC would love to see this years bowls turn out as well for the league as last years postseason.One year ago, the SEC encountered similar criticism after only one of its members -- Alabama, again -- was ranked in the top 15 at the end of the regular season. Before 2015, the last time the SEC had only one top-15 team was in the final poll of the 2000 season.The SEC bounced back last year by going 9-2 in bowl games, including Alabamas victory over Clemson in the College Football Playoff championship game. The SEC set an NCAA record for bowl victories in a season.I think bowl games are a big indicator of conference strength, Tennessee defensive end LaTroy Lewis said. Last year everybody scrutinized the SEC, and we had great success in the bowl games.The SEC isnt the only conferences have much at stake this postseason.The Big 12 has an opportunity to prove its worth in lesser bowl games after getting left out of the playoff for the second time in three years. The Big Ten wants to solidify a banner year as it enters the postseason with four teams ranked eighth or higher. The ACC heads into bowl season with its highest nonconference winning percentage (.750) since 1990.But theres particular pressure on the SEC due to its status as the nations premier conference for the last decade. SEC teams have won eight of the last 10 natiional championships.ddddddddddddI would remind and caution everyone that youre judging us against the standard which we set, and we set that standard over 10 years -- actually probably 12 years -- in a continuing manner, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said last week when he was asked about the leagues relative struggles this season. Weve got one year that well talk about and well analyze, but our expectations for excellence dont change at all.Even in whats considered a disappointing season, the SEC still has gone 42-12 in nonconference games and owns the highest nonconference winning percentage (.778) of any league. The SEC hadnt lost as many as 12 nonconference games in a season since going 31-15 in nonconference play in 2003, and it hasnt finished a season with nonconference winning percentage below .800 since 2008.Another stellar bowl performance could quiet the SECs critics, but the league faces a tougher road in this years postseason.SEC teams were favored in nine of their 11 bowl games last year, including the playoff championship game. The favorite won each of the 11 postseason games involving SEC teams.The SEC is dealing with tougher matchups this time. SEC teams are favored in six of their 12 bowl games and are underdogs in five other bowls. The Georgia-TCU Liberty Bowl is rated as a toss-up.SEC coaches have defended the conference by citing the depth that has allowed the league to have 12 bowl representatives, though that includes two 6-6 teams (South Carolina and Vanderbilt) and one 5-7 squad (Mississippi State). Tennessee coach Butch Jones noted the week-to-week grind of playing in this league and said if youre not at your best, youre going to get beat.Its still the most competitive, toughest football conference in the country, Jones said.The bowl season offers the SEC one last chance to back up that statement.---AP freelance writer Chip Cirillo in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Steve Megargee at www.twitter.com/stevemegargee ' ' '