The Texas Tech Red Raiders broke open a tight game before pulling away for an 86-67 victory over visiting Louisiana-Monroe on Friday in the season opener for both teams.

Texas Tech, which was 19-16 last season, led 38-37 at the half, but fell behind early in the second half before rallying to beat the Warhawks of the Sun Belt Conference. The Warhawks, who finished 12-19 last season, hit nearly 50 percent of their shots in the first half, but the hot shooting Red Raiders countered by making nearly 56 percent of their shots in the half.

Texas Tech trailed 47-42 with 16:30 remaining before going on a 14-2 run to open up a comfortable lead. Texas Tech’s Brad Reese scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

UL-Monroe’s Fred Brown led all scorers with 25 points.