Red Raiders rally for overtime win over No. 13 Cyclones

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech rallied back from a 23-point deficit to earn an 80-77 overtime win over No. 13 Iowa State on Monday at the United Supermarkets Arena. Kevin Obanor led the Red Raiders with 24 points and 13 rebounds in a game where he surpassed the 2,000-point milestone in his career and hit a 3-pointer in the final minute of regulation to help force overtime.

The Red Raiders (12-10, 1-8 Big 12) snapped an eight-game losing streak to begin conference play after they had trailed 39-22 at halftime and were down 59-36 with 12:38 remaining when ISU’s Caleb Grill hit a 3-pointer. Robert Jennings would make a layup on the next possession which seemed inconsequential at the time but would spark an 18-4 run that got Tech back into it. A 3-pointer from Obanor made it a 71-69 game and two free throws from De’Vion Harmon tied it at 71-71 with 21 seconds remaining to force overtime. In overtime, a Harmon layup gave Tech a 77-76 lead before two Obanor free throws sealed the win.

“It’s hard to put in words the resiliency and the heart that these guys showed,” Texas Tech coach Mark Adams said. “I don’t know as a coach if I’ve ever been in a situation where we were down as many points against such a good basketball team like Iowa State and came back to win. They’re one of the most efficient teams in the conference and for us to come back and beat a team of their caliber is great. It says so much about our team and the team’s heart. Their determination, commitment, and love for each other. I’m so blessed to be part of it.”

Tech not only came back from being down 23 but also avenged an 84-50 loss to the Cyclones (15-6, 6-3 Big 12) in the first meeting this season in Ames. In the 2009 Big 12 Championship, Tech was down 48-29 at halftime and by a 50-29 margin early in the second half in an 88-83 win over Texas A&M for a 21-point comeback. The 23-point comeback over ISU is the largest comeback in program history by that account.

Obanor now has 2,022 points and 1,033 rebounds in his career which makes him one of three active players to hit those marks and only the second Red Raider – joining Rick Bullock. Obanor has now scored over 20 points in eight games this season, including three straight after he also had 22 points in the win at LSU last Saturday in Baton Rouge. He’s now averaging a team-high 15.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this season after making three 3-pointers and going 11-for-15 from the free-throw line in the win over the Cyclones.

“It’s a big win,” Obanor said. “We’re trying to get to the tournament. Wins like this, quality wins, in order to push back into the right standings. I’m just thankful for the group of guys that we have. Thankful for them letting me lead them and vice versa. I’m just thankful for the position that we’re in. A lot of people, you know, run away from adversity, but it trains your muscles and endurance. That’s what a lot of people don’t like, but it is very needed to be great.”

Harmon added 16 points and five assists, while Jaylon Tyson had 11 points, nine rebounds and four steals in the win. Lamar Washington led the Tech reserves with eight points, while Jennings scored six and Kerwin Walton had five. The Red Raiders finished the game shooting 40 percent from the field, including hitting six 3-pointers. Harmon made five shots from the field and was 6-for-8 at the free-throw line in the win.

“I’m not trying to get emotional talking about it, but we showed our grit today,” Harmon said. “I mean, it’s been rough. But our guys are so tight and for us to come back and look at the scores thirty to fifty in the second half, we got in a huddle and from then on we just kept going. There’s not another group of guys I would rather play with.”

Caleb Grill led the Cyclones with 24 points after going 8-for-12 on 3-pointers, while Gabe Kalscheur had 19 points despite going 0-for-6 on 3-pointers. ISU was 9-for-27 on 3-pointers in the game and finished the night shooting 47.5 percent from the field. Jaren Holmes added nine points.

Iowa State took a 39-22 lead into halftime after making six 3-pointers and limiting Tech to just 29.2 percent shooting. Obanor led Tech with six points at the break, while Jennings had four points to lead the bench. Tech was 2-for-12 on 3-pointers in the first half while ISU’s Grill was 5-for-6 and had 15 points to lead the Cyclones. ISU had eight players who had scored in the first half and owned an 18-8 scoring advantage in the paint to go along with its 3-point shooting. The Cyclones had a 39-20 halftime lead in the first matchup in Ames.

Tech is now 1-7 against ranked opponents and will travel to play No. 11 Baylor at noon on Saturday in Waco. The Bears will be coming off a 76-71 loss against No. 10 Texas on Monday that took them to 5-4 in Big 12 play.

GAME TRACKER & NOTES
ISU won the tip and scored first on a 3-pointer by Holmes on its opening possession for a 3-0 lead… Tyson would score Tech’s first basket off a Harmon assists on its third possession to make it a 5-2 game
Harmon got to 2,000 career points with a layup with 17:33 on the clock… It made it a 7-4 game after his basket before ISU took a 9-4 advantage into the first media timeout
Grill hit a pair of 3-pointers to push ISU’s lead to 15-7 five minutes into the game…. ISU started the game 3-for-6 on 3-pointers
Obanor made Tech’s first 3-oointer of the game, making it a 15-10 game six minutes in… He had six of Tech’s 10 points to start the game
Allen made a 3-pointer to cut ISU’s lead to 18-15 with 9:15 to play until halftime… It was the first 3-pointer of his career after going 0-for-6 this season and 0-for-3 last year
ISU went on an 8-0 run to take a 26-15 lead on Grill’s fourth 3-pointer of the half… Fisher would make the second of two free throws for his first point and stop the run
Grill would make his fifth 3-pointer of the game to make it a 31-16 score with 3:50 remaining until halftime… Grill was 5-for-6 on 3s and ISU was 6-of-15 going into the final media timeout of the first half
Walton scored his first points of the game on a layup off an assist from Obanor that made it 35-22 with 1:08 to play
ISU went up by 20 for the first time at 42-22 on a Grill 3-pointer to start the second half
Walton and Tyson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a 46-30 game with 16:32 remaining… Tech was 4-for-17 on 3-pointers after the shots
Obanor had a putback and was followed by a Tyson steal and layup to cut ISU’s lead to 61-46 with 9:39 remaining… The run grew to 7-0 with Tyson hitting a free throw coming out of a timeout
Tech was on a 9-0 run to make it 61-49 before an ISU free throw stopped it with eight minutes remaining… Harmon would get into the lane on the next possession for a layup to cut ISU’s lead to 62-51 with 7:51 to play
Washington came up with a steal and dunk to cut the ISU lead to 63-56 six minutes remaining… It was an 18-4 run that had started with a Jennings layup with 12:20 remaining
Harmon made a tough inside shot to make it a 64-59 game with five minutes remaining… .He had nine points after the make
Grill would break a streak of almost 7 minutes of not scoring by ISU with a 3-pointer but on the other end Washington would make a layup for Tech… It was 67-62 with 2:36 to play going into the final media timeout of the game
Williams made a layup to cut it to 69-66 with 1:09 remaining… It was his first basket of the game and had the Red Raiders to within three for the first time since midway through the first half
Obanor would come up with a loose ball and drill a 3-pointer in the corner to make it a 71-69 game with 25 seconds to play… It was his third 3-pointer and gave him 22 points
Harmon tied the game at 71-all with two free throws with 21 seconds remaining… A missed ISU 3-pointer sent the game into overtime
Tech won the tip to start overtime and took a 73-71 lead on a Williams inside shot off a Harmon assist… It was Tech’s first lead of the game
Harmon gave Tech a 77-76 lead with a layup with 1:38 to play… He had 15 points after the basket that followed a missed 3-pointer by ISU on the other end
Harmon would get Tech back on top with one free throw to make it 78-77 with 34 seconds remaining… He missed the second free throw. Tech was 24-for-35 at the line after his free throws

Release provided by WES BLOOMQUIST Texas Tech Athletics