No. 18 Texas Tech uses strong 2nd half to defeat No. 15 Iowa State

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Kevin Obanor scored 13 of his 15 points after halftime as 18th-ranked Texas Tech turned a close game into a 72-60 win over No. 15 Iowa State on Tuesday night, giving the Red Raiders their third consecutive victory against a ranked opponent.

Since losing at Iowa State with only seven healthy players two weeks ago, the Red Raiders (14-4, 4-2 Big 12) have won four of five games. That included back-to-back wins over top-10 teams Kansas and Baylor, though they were coming off a loss at unranked Kansas State on Saturday.

Bryson Williams had 16 points to lead the Red Raiders, and Davion Warren had 11. Obanor also had eight rebounds.

Caleb Grill had 17 points with four 3-pointers for Iowa State, while Izaiah Brockington had 12 points and nine rebounds. Three Cyclones post players fouled out of the game.

The Cyclones (14-4, 2-4) were within 29-28 when Gabe Kalscheur made a 3-pointer with 17:11 left. But Texas Tech's Marcus Santos-Silva then made two free throws before Obanor had the first of his three putback layups in an 11-2 run that gave Tech its first double-digit lead — 40-30 on a free throw by Obanor after being fouled on his last putback.

Texas Tech, which is 11-0 at home, later added a 16-3 spurt that included nine made free throws before Terrence Shannon's dunk for a 60-40 lead with 7:21 left.

In the first half, Iowa State had a 22-20 lead after Kevin McCullar’s turnover — a steal by Grill that led to a layup by George Conditt with 4:27 left. A few seconds later, Conditt was called for his third foul and McCullar made both free throws to tie the game.

The Cyclones then missed their last eight field-goal attempts before halftime, though they did regain a 23-22 lead on a free throw by Robert Jones before a shorter floater by Williams put Texas Tech ahead to stay.

BIG PICTURE

Iowa State: The Cyclones have played ranked opponents in five of their first six Big 12 games, which came after they won their first 12 games under first-year head coach T.J. Otzelberger. ... The 14-3 start was their best since having the same record in 2014-15, when they also lost their 18th game at Texas Tech.

Texas Tech: After injuries and COVID-19 protocols left them short-handed for a 51-47 loss at Iowa State 13 days ago, the Red Raiders have since gotten McCullar (ankle) and Shannon back in the lineup. Shannon made his first start since Dec. 14, and his only basket before halftime was on a set play out of a timeout for a 26-23 lead at the break. He missed six games in a row because of a lingering back issues, including the wins over Kansas and Baylor, before playing 18 minutes off the bench Saturday at Kansas State.

BEATING RANKED TEAMS

Texas Tech got its fourth win this season against a ranked team, matching Iowa State's season total that, going into Tuesday night, was matched with Villanova for the most in the country. The Red Raiders also had a win over then-No. 13 Tennessee at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 7.

UP NEXT

Iowa State: Hosts TCU on Saturday.

Texas Tech: Stays home to play West Virginia on Saturday.

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