University of Oklahoma Athletics
University of Oklahoma
12-3,2-1Big 12
Iowa State
13-2,1-2Big 12
OU Catches Fire Late to Beat No. 11 ISU
January 08, 2022 | Men's Basketball
NORMAN (AP) — Umoja Gibson scored 20 points, and Oklahoma rallied in the second half to defeat No. 11 Iowa State 79-66 on Saturday night.
Tanner Groves scored 16 points and Elijah Harkless added 13 for the Sooners (12-3, 2-1 Big 12), who took control with a 14-0 run spanning five minutes late in the second half.
Oklahoma bounced back from a loss to No. 1 Baylor with a dynamic offensive performance. The Sooners shot 62% from the field overall and 82% in the second half. It was Oklahoma's third win over a ranked team this season under first-year coach Porter Moser.
Izaiah Brockington and Tyrese Hunter each scored 20 points for Iowa State (13-2, 1-2).
Jacob Groves banked in a 3-pointer to give the Sooners a 21-16 lead midway through the first half, but Iowa State took control until the break. Brockington scored 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting to help the Cyclones take a 36-32 lead at halftime.
Iowa State opened the second half on a 7-2 run, highlighted by a 3-pointer by Hunter, to take a 43-34 lead.
Later in the half, Iowa State's Aljaz Kunc was called for a technical, and Oklahoma's Umoja Gibson made the free throw to tie the score at 59.
Oklahoma finally took the lead on a basket by Jacob Groves on another dazzling pass by Cortes. A turnaround jumper by Cortes pushed Oklahoma's advantage to 65-61. Cortes then spun, left a Cyclone defender on the ground and scored a layup to put Oklahoma up by 10.
BIG PICTURE
Iowa State: The Cyclones depended too heavily on Brockington in the first half and Hunter in the second half for scoring. Defensively, they couldn't handle Oklahoma's passing, with Cortes picking apart Iowa State's defense late in the game.
Oklahoma: The Sooners have a great chance to move into the top 25. The Sooners were 27th in votes in the most recent poll.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma travels to Austin for the Red River Showdown against Texas Tuesday, Jan. 11.
