Cyclones lose 71-65 to Texas in Big 12 quarterfinals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Texas looked desperate.

Iowa State looked hungry.

Desperation won out.

ISU's skid at the Big 12 conference tournament hit seven late Thursday, as the Longhorns overcame an 11-point second-half deficit and pulled away for a 71-65 quarterfinal win.

“We kind of came apart for a stretch there,” said Cyclone guard Scott Christopherson, who scored 10 points. “At this time of year you just can't afford to do that.”

Texas (20-12) beat the No. 25 Cyclones (22-10) for the second time this season and used a stunning 26-7 run to turn a 40-29 deficit into a 55-47 lead with 9:33 left.

J'Covan Brown, the most desperate - and skilled - Texas player, shined during a wild second half, pouring in 17 of his game-high 23 points.

His 3-point play with 52 seconds left quelled a Royce White-led Cyclone rally that tied the score at 65-65.

Brown went just 7 of 19 from the field, but nailed nine of 10 free throw tries.

“That kid, he's a load,” ISU coach Fred Hoiberg said. “He's a big-time player and made big-time plays.”

The Cyclones, led by White's 17 points and 10 rebounds, hoped to improve their already-in “Big Dance” status, but instead will sweat out selection Sunday waiting to hear their seeding.

White scored six of his points while ISU clawed back after Texas' big run.

“It means nothing,” he said of his stat line that also included four assists, four turnovers and a 3-for-3 effort at the free throw line. “My performance was not good enough, especially when you think about the first five minutes is the most important and I came out and turned it over. It just wasn't good enough. I'm going to have to get better here in the next week if we're going to make a run in the (NCAA) tournament.”

Percy Gibson, Christopherson and Melvin Ejim each scored 10 points for ISU, which shot 27.8 percent (5-18) from 3-point range.

Christopherson and fellow starting guards Chris Babb and Chris Allen combined to go 7 of 26 from the field (26.9 percent).

“You've got to give it to our guards for really working,” said Longhorns coach Rick Barnes, whose team bolstered its hopes of earning a 14th straight NCAA tournament bid. “And we talked about it for two days. It's being on the edge, away from the ball, because they're an extremely hard team to guard. And White's as tough a matchup as anybody we'll play against.”

The Cyclones outrebounded Texas 41-39 overall, but surrendered 16 offensive boards.

“That slowed us down,” Hoiberg said. “We weren't able to get out in transition. We had to play in the half court and they do a really good job in the half court, as far as sitting in and making you beat them from the outside, which we didn't do tonight.”

They've done it several times before, though.

And there's a bigger tournament next week to prepare for.

“We need to go back and learn from this,” Christopherson said. “Everybody's got to be looking at themselves in the mirror and asking what they can do better. See who we draw in the tournament and put our best foot forward and bounce back.”

TEXAS (20-12)

Holmes 1-3 3-6 5, Chapman 4-9 2-2 10, Lewis 4-13 0-0 9, Kabongo 4-12 2-4 11, Brown 7-19 9-10 23, McClellan 3-8 2-2 9, Bond 2-3 0-0 4, Gibbs 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-68 18-24 71.

IOWA ST. (22-10)

Ejim 5-6 0-0 10, White 7-16 3-3 17, Babb 1-6 2-2 5, Allen 2-7 1-2 5, Christopherson 4-13 0-0 10, Palo 1-1 0-0 3, Booker 0-3 0-0 0, Gibson 4-5 2-2 10, McGee 2-3 0-0 5. Totals 26-60 8-9 65.

Halftime_Iowa St. 29-25. 3-Point Goals_Texas 3-15 (Lewis 1-2, McClellan 1-3, Kabongo 1-3, Holmes 0-1, Gibbs 0-1, Brown 0-5), Iowa St. 5-18 (Christopherson 2-6, Palo 1-1, McGee 1-2, Babb 1-5, Booker 0-1, White 0-1, Allen 0-2). Fouled Out_Ejim. Rebounds_Texas 39 (Chapman 8), Iowa St. 41 (White 10). Assists_Texas 8 (Kabongo 5), Iowa St. 13 (Allen, White 4). Total Fouls_Texas 12, Iowa St. 21. A_18,972.

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