Iowa State halts league road woes

Cyclones snap 28-game slump with 92-80 win at No. 20 Texas

? Iowa State’s long and torturous Big 12 Conference road losing streak started here. It’s only fitting that it ended here.

Tasheed Carr scored 13 points in overtime, and Iowa State ended its 28-game conference road skid with a 92-80 victory over No. 20 Texas on Saturday.

By the time the final seconds ticked off, Cyclones senior center Jared Homan was dancing and hugging his teammates, and coach Wayne Morgan pumped both fists and breathed a huge sigh of relief as he walked off the court.

“They were battling for me, to tell you the truth,” Homan said. “They all came up to me in the locker room and said, ‘We got you one, big fella.”‘

Iowa State hadn’t won on the road in the Big 12 since beating Kansas State on Feb. 21, 2001. Three days later, the losing streak started when Texas thumped the sixth-ranked Cyclones, 94-78.

Morgan, in just his second season with Iowa State, told Homan and his teammates that a victory would come — someday.

“This is pure joy,” Morgan said. “I was really happy for (Homan), we even had a conversation where he said, ‘I’ve got to get one on the road before I leave here,’ and I promised him he would.”

The Cyclones halted their skid thanks in large part to Will Blalock, whose short shot in the lane with 37 seconds left tied it at 68 and sent the game into overtime.

Blalock came up huge on the other end as well, forcing a turnover by Longhorns guard Daniel Gibson that kept Texas from getting off a final shot.

Iowa State players on the bench celebrate the team's overtime victory. The Cyclones stunned No. 20 Texas, 92-80, Saturday in Austin, Texas.

Carr took over in overtime. He opened the extra period with a three-pointer from the left corner, followed it with another from the right and put back his own miss to make it 78-74.

Curtis Stinson hit two straight buckets, and Carr hit two free throws and converted a three-point play that made it 87-76 and sent the Texas fans heading for the exits.

The Cyclones now have won three in a row after dropping six straight in January. Iowa State ended that losing skid with a home victory over No. 14 Oklahoma.

The victory was also their first conference overtime victory since 1995, when they were still in the old Big Eight. They had lost 10 in a row.

Blalock scored 15, Stinson scored 17, and Homan added 14 for the Cyclones, who had six players score in double figures.

Gibson scored 23 to lead Texas (15-6, 4-4), and Brad Buckman had 20 points and 15 rebounds. But Buckman missed a free throw that would have given the Longhorns a three-point cushion with 49 seconds left before Blalock’s tying shot.

“I told the guys we still need to find a way to finish the game,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “It’s a tough way to lose a basketball game when you really have control of it but you can’t finish.”

Buckman also missed a layup when Texas held a 67-63 lead.

“It’s like a dagger in your heart when they keep knocking down shots,” Buckman said.

Texas Tech 88,

No. 14 Oklahoma 81

Norman, Okla. — Jarrius Jackson scored a career-high 32 points, Devonne Giles added 17, and Texas Tech upended Oklahoma to snap the Sooners’ 14-game home winning streak. Jackson scored 19 points in the first half as Tech built a 14-point lead and never lost control. A three-pointer by Lawrence McKenzie brought Oklahoma to 43-36 in the first three minutes of the second half. Giles answered with seven straight points to put Tech (14-5, 6-2) up by 14. Taj Gray had six points — including two offensive-rebound putbacks — during a 10-0 run that brought Oklahoma (17-4, 6-2) to 67-58, but the deficit proved too big to overcome.

No. 10 OSU 81, Baylor 63

Waco, Texas — John Lucas III scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half to celebrate his final visit to the place where he started his college career. Lucas was one of five players in double figures for the Cowboys (17-3, 7-2). Ivan McFarlin had 18 points, while JamesOn Curry had 14 with four three-pointers. Stephen Graham had 13 points, and Joey Graham added 12. Aaron Bruce, a freshman point guard from Australia, had a season-high 33 points for Baylor (9-10, 1-7). He made 11 of 18 shots.

Texas A&M 91, Missouri 63

College Station, Texas — Antoine Wright and Bobby Leach scored 20 points apiece, and Texas A&M used sizzling long-range shooting to beat Missouri. Texas A&M (15-5, 4-5) shot 75 percent from three-point range in the second half, making nine of 12 to erase a one-point halftime deficit and coast to the lopsided victory. The win is Texas A&M’s 15th of the season, which ensures the Aggies their best finish since going 19-11 in the 1993-1994 season. Freshman Jason Horton led Missouri (10-12, 2-7) with 17 points.

Colorado 70, K-State 60

Manhattan — Richard Roby scored 22 points, and Marcus Hall had 17 to lead Colorado. Chris Copeland added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Colorado (11-9, 3-6), which had lost six of its last eight. Lance Harris scored 13 of his 18 points in the first half to lead Kansas State (13-6, 3-5), which shot just 25 percent (10-of-40) in the second half. Jeremiah Massey added 17 points and eight rebounds for Kansas State.