Texas Tech upsets No. 14 Iowa State in overtime

LUBBOCK, Texas — Keenan Evans scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half, none bigger than a shot clock-beating 25-footer with 1:34 left in overtime, and Texas Tech rallied from as much as nine down in the second half to upset No. 14 Iowa State, 85-83, Wednesday night at United Spirit Arena.

Forward Aaron Ross led the Red Raiders with 20 points, 18 in the second half, and guard Devaugntah Williams scored 14 of his 19 in the second half for the Red Raiders (14-9, 4-7 in Big 12), who surpassed their Big 12 victory total from all of last season. Guard Justin Gray added 15 points and forward Zach Smith chipped in 10.

Guard Deonte Burton scored 17 of his 20 points after halftime, and forward Georges Niang added 18 points for the Cyclones (17-7, 7-5). Forward Abdel Nader had 19 points and guard Monte Morris chipped in 12.

Both teams had chances to win at the end of regulation. Texas Tech missed the front end of three two-free throw opportunities that would have put it ahead but instead left the Red Raiders tied.

Morris missed a long jumper from the left side with about four seconds left, and Texas Tech had the last shot after Williams fell down at half court, but a rushed Gray jumper from long range clanked off the top of the glass at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.

With the score tied at 80 in overtime, Iowa State knocked the ball out of bounds with just two seconds left on the shot clock. Evans took the inbounds pass and put up a contested 3-pointer from the top of the key that banked in to put the Red Raiders up for good.

Niang converted both ends of a 1-and-1 with 27.8 seconds left to cut the lead to one, and the Cyclones harassed the Red Raiders on the ensuing inbounds pass, knocking it out of bounds twice and forcing Tech to call a timeout. But Smith was fouled with 18.4 seconds left and hit both free throws to push the lead back to three.

Iowa State's last-gasp effort to tie the game came up short as guard Matt Thomas' 3-point attempt from the left wing clanged off the iron, sending the crowd into a frenzy

Nader picked up where he left off in the first half when he finished with 11 points. He added a layup and a 3-pointer from the right wing to put the Cyclones up 47-42, the trey kickstarting a 10-3 run that eventually gave Iowa State its biggest lead to that point at 54-45 with 15:26 to play.

But just as they did in the first half, the Red Raiders refused to let Iowa State run away and hide. A jumper by Ross, a dunk on a breakaway by Smith and a jumper by Gray cut the Iowa State lead to three at 54-51 with 13:12 to play.

Iowa State's inside game, however, was not to be denied as Niang and Burton combined for the next six Cyclone points for a 60-53 lead with 11:27 to play.

Williams led all scorers with 14 points in the first half as Texas Tech used a 15-7 run to close out the first half and rally the Red Raiders to a 37-all tie.

Nader led the Cyclones in the first half with 11 points and Niang added eight points as Iowa State grabbed a 30-22 lead with just over six minutes left in the first half.

But Williams scored all eight points on an 8-0 run to tie the game, then scored on consecutive drives to the basket in the final minute for the Red Raiders (13-9, 3-7 in Big 12).

Thomas added five first-half points for the Cyclones (17-6, 6-4).

Gray was hot early for the Red Raiders, draining a pair of 3-pointers on Texas Tech's first two possessions. But the Cyclones quickly clamped down defensively, forcing the Red Raiders to settle for jump shots, which they struggled to make.

Iowa State then took control with a 7-0 run thanks to the efforts of Nader, who hit a 3-pointer from the left wing and followed that up after a timeout with a layup. Morris added a layup at the 12:36 mark to put the Cyclones up 14-8.

Smith ended the run with a three-point play to cut the deficit in half, but the Red Raiders struggled to close the gap over the next five minutes as Niang and Nader took turns hitting key buckets to keep the Red Raiders at bay.

Thomas added a 3-pointer to put the Cyclones up 23-19 at the eight-minute media timeout. That started another Iowa State surge that ended with a 3-pointer by guard Jordan Ashton to put Iowa State up 30-22 with 6:10 left in the first half.

But Williams took over by scoring the next eight points of the game, including back-to-back treys, tying the game at 30 with just over 4 1/2 minutes left in the half.

After a Niang layup, Tech took its first lead since early in the half on free throws by forward Zach Smith and guard Keenan Evans, going up 33-32 with 94 seconds left in the half.

Hallice Cooke's 3-pointer with 37 seconds left put the Cyclones up by two, but Williams finished his strong half with a drive to the basket, tying the game at 37 with 6.5 seconds left and sending the Red Raiders into the intermission with momentum.