Texas Tech Upsets Iowa State for First Big 12 Victory
The Texas Tech Red Raiders finally won their first Big 12 conference game of the season, doing so in dramatic fashion over the Iowa State Cyclones on Monday.
The Red Raiders, who were down at one point in the game by 23 points, rallied to force overtime and then beat the No. 13 Cyclones, 80-77.
It was the largest comeback in Texas Tech (12-10, 1-8 in Big 12) basketball history. After the game, Texas Tech students stormed the court. The Red Raiders were also without both forward Fardaws Aimaq and guard Richard ‘Pop’ Isaacs due to injury.
Even though the Red Raiders hadn’t won a Big 12 game to that point, they are now on a two-game winning streak after beating LSU on Saturday in the Big 12-SEC Challenge.
The Cyclones (15-6, 6-3) fell out of a tie for first place in the Big 12 with the loss.
Texas Tech outscored Iowa State, 49-32, in the second half after falling behind 39-22 at halftime. Iowa State did have a chance to win the game in regulation, but the Cyclones’ game-winning shot didn’t fall, sending the game to overtime.
From there, Texas Tech got a 3-point lead late in the game and Iowa State had three chances to tie the game but missed all three shots.
Forward Kevin Obanor led the Red Raiders with 24 points and put together a double-double with 13 rebounds. Guard De’Vion Harmon had 16 points, while guard Jaylon Tyson added 11 points.
Caleb Grill returned from a one-game absence due to injury and poured in 24 points, all of which came on eight 3-pointers. Gabe Kalscheur scored 19 points and Tamin Lipsey added 11 points.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
