Texas Tech continued a string of upsets on Wednesday night as the Red Raiders held on for an 85-82 overtime win over No. 14 Iowa State in Big 12 play.
Struggling recently to put away ranked Big 12 teams at home, Texas Tech had a huge 3-pointer from guard Keenan Evans from near mid-court as the shot clock expired. The momentum-boosting play fueled a 12-3 Red Raider run late in the game and ultimately helped them close out a big win.
Evans (17 points) was one of five Texas Tech players to finish in double-figures as Aaron Ross led with 20 points and Devaughntah Williams tallied 19 points. The Red Raiders didn’t do a particularly effective job at slowing down an Iowa State offense that shot 54 percent from the field, but they did a good job of limiting 3-pointers as the Cyclones were 6-for-19 (31 percent) from distance.
Playing without starting senior center Jameel McKay -- who continues his indefinite suspension -- Iowa State wasn’t nearly as strong defending the rim and the Red Raiders were able to match points with the Cyclones. Deonte Burton finished with 20 points to lead Iowa State while Abdel Nader finished with 19. Nader made a bone-headed play late in regulation when he intentionally fouled Justin Gray (15 points) with 1:25 left, which resulted in the senior fouling out before overtime.
At the end of regulation with the game tied, point guard Monte Morris missed a contested perimeter jumper to put the game into extra time. Iowa State has now lost three of their last four games as they’ve fallen two games behind the Big 12’s top teams. The Cyclones are going to need to quickly close ground by going on a winning streak if they hope to stay with Oklahoma, Kansas and West Virginia.
After close home losses to West Virginia and Baylor, it was a nice win for Texas Tech to finally close out a ranked Big 12 opponent at home. Despite Evans hitting that lucky heave in overtime, they put themselves in position to win and capitalized when they had the chance. This is the second consecutive season that Texas Tech has beaten Iowa State at home and it’s clearly been a tough matchup for the Cyclones.
