No.16 Texas Tech Stuns No.4 Iowa State, Hands Cyclones First Home Loss

AMES, Iowa – The No. 16 Texas Tech Red Raiders (22-7, 12-4) handed the No. 4 Iowa State Cyclones (24-5, 11-5) their first loss of the season at home with an 82-73 win at Hilton Coliseum, Saturday afternoon. Six different players finished in double figures for Texas Tech, as Grant McCasland's side picked up a third win over a top 5 AP-ranked team this season, along with a 4th win over a top 10-ranked team, the most in program history for a single season.

“I thought we came into this game with the right mentality,” said Texas Tech Head Coach Grant McCasland after the win. “The only way we were able to play this way is the respect we have for Iowa State and this building.”

The Red Raiders broke out to an 8-point lead through the first 5 minutes of the opening half. Just past the midway point of the first half, Tech would jump out to a 15-2 run entering the final 10 minutes, led by sophomore forward Luke Bamgboye, who chipped in with 9 points on 4-4 shooting. The offensive momentum would continue for the Red Raiders as the Tech run would evolve into a 20-4 run entering the final 5 minutes as junior guard Donovan Atwell caught fire. Atwell finished his first half with 15 points on 5-9 shooting, all from 3-point range. Tech would cap off the half with a 7-0 scoring run, leading the Cyclones 45-29 heading into halftime.

Coming out of the break, the Cyclones outscored Tech to open the half, led by senior forward Joshua Jefferson. Jefferson added 13 points to his first-half total, helping Iowa State chip away at the Red Raider lead. Tech would continue to withstand the Cyclones surge despite 4 of the 5 players who started getting into foul trouble in the second half forcing McCasland to rely on his team's depth.

Senior guard Tyree Bryan and sophomore guard Josiah Moseley hadn’t had a scoring game in double figures in all of conference play. The guard tandem both pitched in with 10 points apiece to continue to keep the Cyclones at bay entering the final 10 minutes.

“Guards win if you get good guard play in space, that's kind of the most difficult thing to defend,” said McCasland when describing his team's shot-making against Iowa State. “When you put pressure on the rim, and have the threat at the three-point line in space, we had six guys in double figures, so it took everybody.”

Iowa State would go on a 7-0 run to try and grab the game's momentum, fueled by junior forward Milan Momcilovic, who had 13 second half points to push his game total to 20 whilst being one of three different Cyclones to finish in double figures as Iowa State fueled a 14-scoring run entering the final few minutes hacking at the Red Raiders lead.

However, late into the final half, the Red Raiders would go on an 8-0 scoring run led by freshman guard Jaylen Petty, who finished with 11 points, with 9 of them coming in the second half, knocking a huge 3-point jumper late into the final two minutes to keep Tech pushing.

“We went back to giving space and that's when Jaylen Petty really started loosening the game up.” said McCasland after the win vs the Cyclones. “He’s such a dynamic player, and he can score in one on one situations. I mean he’s the guy we give the ball to, and let him go back somebody up and make shots. When it kind of got close he really stepped up and made big plays.”

Iowa State fueled a 6-0 and 11-0 run in the final minutes, but the Texas Tech lead continued to be too big to bite into. In combination with a mid-range dagger by sophomore guard Christian Anderson to put himself into double figures wrapped up the win as Texas Tech knocked off yet another ranked opponent on the road.

The Red Raiders continue to add to an already impressive resume as March peaks around the corner. With the win in Ames, Tech jumps into a tie with No. 5 Houston for second place in the Big 12. Tech will return to Lubbock for a final time this season in a final home stand with TCU, Tuesday night at the United Markets Arena. The Red Raiders will end conference play in Provo, taking on No. 19 BYU to end the conference schedule a week from today.

Tip-off between Texas Tech and TCU is for 6:00 p.m. CST at United Markets Arena Tuesday night on FSI.

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