Keshon Gilbert poured in 24 points and took eight rebounds to lead a balanced Iowa State attack as the 10th-ranked Cyclones defeated visiting Texas Tech 82-74 on Saturday afternoon in a key Big 12 Conference game in Ames, Iowa.
The Cyclones (20-5, 9-3 Big 12) built a 14-point lead at the half that they expanded to 58-37 eight and a half minutes into the second half and held on. Texas Tech pulled to within 75-67 on two Robert Jennings free throws with 51.6 seconds remaining, but the Red Raiders ran out of time.
Iowa State has won four straight game and seven of its past eight outings and held on to at least a share of the Big 12 lead. Curtis Jones added 12 points for the Cyclones, with Milan Momcilovic, Tamin Lipsey and Robert Jones hitting for 10 apiece.
Joe Toussaint’s 16 points led Texas Tech (18-7, 7-5 Big 12), which had a two-game winning-streak snapped. Jennings added 13 points, Darrion Williams had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Chance McMillian scored 10 for the Red Raiders.
The Red Raiders kept things close early, as Kyeron Lindsay’s 3-pointer at the 15:17 mark of the first half brought Tech to within 7-6. But the Cyclones dominated the rest of the half, with Gilbert’s layup with 9:55 to play pushing the margin to 20-10. When Momcilovic canned a jumper about a minute later, Iowa State was up by 16.
Tech struggled from the field, missing eight of their nine shots over a stretch of the half and going three and a half minutes without a field goal before Toussaint’s jumper with 2:19 remaining in the half. Momcilovic’s nifty reverse layup late in the half allowed the Cyclones to carry a 38-24 advantage into the break.
Momcilovic and Robert Jones scored 8 points each before halftime to lead all scorers.
Williams led Texas Tech with 7 points; the Red Raiders stayed in the game by outscoring Iowa State 9-2 from the free throw line.
After the teams traded 3-pointers to open the second half, the Cyclones slowly added to their lead, going up by 21 on Lipsey’s three-point play with 11:23 to play.
–Field Level Media