Two paths presented themselves to Darrion Williams in the final minutes of Saturday's Big 12 Conference game in United Supermarkets Arena.

Option one was to shoot the mid-range jumper UCF left wide open for the 6-foot-6 forward. Williams had several of those looks as the Knights went to a zone to slow down the Texas Tech basketball team's offense. He missed a few throughout the game, ones Williams felt he should've hit.

The second option was to drive to the cup. He had a clear lane to the hole, though the UCF defense had done well to swarm the rim and force tough looks throughout the afternoon.

Williams stopped for a moment, rose up and drilled the shot, giving Tech a 60-57 lead.

That was just one of many crucial plays Williams made throughout the game. His 13-point, 13-rebound double-double was the catalyst that pushed the Red Raiders (17-6, 6-4) to a 66-59 victory to snap the team's three-game losing streak.

"I'm just happy we won," Williams said. "I was tired of losing."

There was another decision Williams had to make before the game.

In Tech's past two games, Williams started sporting a headband. Admittedly superstitious, Williams decided the headband would be no more after the Red Raiders lost both contests, even if one of them involved the Nevada transfer totaling a career-high 17 points against Baylor.

Headwear aside, Williams has become an even bigger piece to Texas Tech's operation as of late. His 37 minutes, 53 seconds on the floor against the Knights was his third game in the row being Tech's iron man. Every second mattered to snap the slide.

"His ability to make a simple play without turning the ball over, handle the ball, give us another guy that can make passes and make decisions," Tech coach Grant McCasland said, "it just really is huge for us and can't be overstated how important he is to our team."

Part of getting back into the win column came on the boards, an area of concern throughout the season for McCasland.

GAME RECAP: Darrion Williams' double-double helps No. 23 Texas Tech basketball end losing skid: 3 takeaways

Saturday was just the second time in Big 12 play the Red Raiders won the rebounding battle, grabbing 44 to UCF's 37, including a 14-12 edge on the offensive glass. Warren Washington (10 points), who returned after missing Tuesday's game due to illness, added 11 total rebounds, six on the offensive end, to help the cause.

"They did a really good job of rebounding the basketball," UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. "I thought Williams and Washington, they were terrific. Both of those guys are active on both boards. ... Just their activity, I guess desire was at a level that was, you know, a sense of urgency, whatever word you like to choose. They were really honed in on making efforts to get to the offensive boards and defensive rebounds."

Dawkins was without his team's leading rebounder with 7-foot center Ibrahima Diallo, and Texas Tech took advantage of it in Washington's return.

"Obviously rebounding's one of our weaknesses," Washington said, "and that's one thing we've been really diving into in practice and working on. I'm glad we won the rebounding battle."

While Texas Tech's high-scoring guard trio of Pop Isaacs, Joe Toussaint and Chance McMillian combined for 23 points on 6-for-32 from the field (3-of-14 from 3-point range), Washington, Williams and Kerwin Walton did the heavy lifting.

Walton got Tech started with a 12-point first half that saw the senior wing drill four 3s (nobody else hit more than one). That got the Red Raiders a halftime lead, then Williams and Washington handled the rest.

The performance from the posts comes at an opportune time for the Red Raiders. Next up is a home game with Kansas on Monday, a short turnaround for both teams — the No. 4 Jayhawks held off No. 13 Baylor 64-61 on Saturday.

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Texas Tech and Kansas have similar roster structures with most of the action revolving around their centers — for Kansas, it's 7-foot-2 Michigan transfer Hunter Dickinson. Not prone to success behind the arc, everything funnels to the paint for the Jayhawks, which will keep the likes of Williams and Washington busy.

With the losing streak behind them, the Red Raiders can try to build some momentum for the final eight games of Big 12 play. Much like McCasland has said for weeks, Texas Tech's potential will come down to handling the glass, and his players know that.

"We've been getting our butts kicked in (rebounding) the last few weeks," Williams said, "so we really emphasized that in practice and came out today, but we've got to keep that moving forward. Can't just be a one-game thing."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Post players step up in No. 23 Texas Tech basketball win over UCF