NEWS » n enough on the field -- and from Goff in p

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.Gerald McCoy Youth Jersey . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. Ronde Barber Womens Jersey . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. http://www.authenticbuccaneerspro.com/Devin-white-buccaneers-jersey/ . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Mike Evans Youth Jersey . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. Mike Alstott Buccaneers Jersey . -- Brandon Jennings made the most of his first game with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.Jared Goff will make his first NFL start at quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams?in front of a home crowd on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, the team announced Tuesday.Rams coach Jeff Fisher informed Goff and Case Keenum of the switch when he met with the quarterbacks on Tuesday morning, sources told ESPN. Keenum, who started the teams first nine games, will be the backup, and second-year quarterback?Sean Mannion will remain No. 3, for now.I think its time, Goff said after Tuesdays practice. Im ready to move forward and play. Im just going to work hard and hopefully win.Goff was the first pick in the 2016 NFL draft, but he made steady progress in practice during the first half of the season. Sources said the Rams staff believed the rookie from Cal was close to stepping in as the starter within the past two weeks, but Keenum remained the quarterback for Sundays 9-6 road win against the?New York Jets?at MetLife Stadium.It was the third game in which the Rams offense failed to score a touchdown, which prompted Fisher to joke Monday that his team was an offensive juggernaut and 2-1 in games when the Rams had not produced a TD.The Rams confidence in Goff is evident, as the 4-5 team remains in contention for a playoff spot. He has been getting limited reps with the first-team offense the past few weeks, including all the first-team reps during the Rams bye in Week 8.Hes ready, hes preparing and doing well, Fisher said of Goff on Monday. Hes anxious and confident.Fisher has maintained that Goff would be the starter when hes ready. Goff was inactive for Week 1, with Mannion serving as Keenums backup; but Goff has been the No. 2 quarterback since Week 2.It wasnt a spontaneous decision, Fisher said. It was a progression. Its a gut feel. Its not an easy thing. It takes time, and we gave it time, and it was the right decision. Were looking forward to watching him play.Hes going to have some moments, like all young quarterbacks do, but hes going to do well.Even though Goff was the first overall pick, five other rookie quarterbacks have started at least one NFL game this season, in part due to unforeseen circumstances: Carson Wentz (Eagles), Dak Prescott (Cowboys), Jacoby Brissett ((Patriots), Cody Kessler (Browns) and Paxton Lynch (Broncos).ddddddddddddWentz and Prescott have started all of their teams games.There is not necessarily a belief that Goff alone will solve the Rams anemic offense, a source said. Rams running back Todd Gurley has yet to get untracked, and the offensive line play has been spotty at times. The Rams rank second worst in the league in total offense and have scored the fewest points (139) in the NFL.Nevertheless, with Goff now fully indoctrinated into the offense after exclusively running a no-huddle spread attack during four seasons at Cal, team sources said there is hope he will energize the team and a home fan base that was hostile during the teams most recent game at the Coliseum -- a 13-10 loss to the Carolina Panthers?on Nov. 6. That was the Rams fourth consecutive loss after a 3-1 start.Fisher said he has finally seen enough on the field -- and from Goff in practice -- to warrant the inevitable change.It feels like a long time since Ive got out there and played, Goff said. Im excited to get back out there. ... I saw a lot of stuff from the sidelines, as much as you can see during games, and learned from a lot of the things Case did -- good and bad. Its been a long process, I guess, trying to pick up everything and get ready for it. I think I have, and I think Ive been ready for a little while. I feel good, and I feel excited.This Sunday, Goff will face a Dolphins defensive front seven that overwhelmed the Chargers offensive line and frustrated veteran quarterback?Philip Rivers into throwing four interceptions in Sundays 31-24 victory at San Diego. Miami is on a four-game winning streak.The rest of the Rams schedule after the game against the Dolphins also would present its challenges for Goff. The Rams play early games at New Orleans (Nov. 27) and at New England (Dec. 4), then host Atlanta (Dec. 11) and visit Seattle (Dec. 15, a Thursday night) before finishing with home games against San Francisco (Dec. 24) and Arizona (Jan. 1).Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. ' ' '