Red Raider Recap: Iowa State 70, No. 8 Tech 52

Saturday, January 20

Ames, Iowa

1:00 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

15-4 (4-3B12)

Iowa State

11-7 (2-5B12)

Texas Tech

Iowa State

Red Raider Recap: Iowa State 70, No. 8 Tech 52

January 20, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Coach Beard & Justin Gray Postgame Highlights

The Red Raiders will look to protect their home court against Oklahoma State on Tuesday.

AMES, Iowa – The No. 8 Texas Tech men's basketball team was handed its second consecutive road loss as Iowa State led for a majority of the contest en route to a 70-52 win at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday.

The Red Raiders (15-4, 4-3 Big 12) were unable to find their offensive rhythm outside of a 10-1 run during the first four minutes of the second half. Texas Tech was limited to season-lows 52 points and a 33.9 field goal percentage.

"I want to congratulate Iowa State on a good Big 12 win," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "In our program we're going to win with class, and we're going to lose with class. Today, we got beat. They were the better team today. They outplayed us in the first half, and they outplayed us late in the second half. When they make shots like that, they're a really good team. I told our guys all week in preparation that Iowa State is a team that's two to three possessions away from being in the top half of our league. I think what's most impressive to me this is a team that has a lot of perseverance and heart. I knew this because I know they're coach and what he's all about. Now, we find ourselves in the same situation. We're going to have to fight and get back up. This is life in the Big 12, but I do want to congratulate Iowa State. I thought they played great today."

Zhaire Smith tallied a team-leading 10 points to give himself double figures in 12 of his last 14 appearances. Jarrett Culver turned in a balanced effort with nine points, six rebounds and three assists making his first start since the Abilene Christian game on Dec. 22.

Brandone Francis garnered eight points and three rebounds, while Malik Ondigo provided a spark off the bench with career-bests six points and four rebounds in his Big 12 debut.

Keenan Evans was held to seven points, his second-lowest scoring output of the season. He dished out four assists and grabbed four rebounds. However, Evans misfired on 10 of his 12 shot attempts.

Justin Gray added four points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks followed by Niem Stevenson who also tallied four points.

Texas Tech was 20-of-59 from the field and connected on 6-of-26 on three-pointers. The Red Raiders were 6-of-10 at the foul line and held to a season's low 20 bench points.

Iowa State (11-7, 2-5 Big 12) countered with a 27-for-57 shooting performance and hit on 8-for-21 from beyond the three-point line. The Cyclones were 8-for-11 on free throws.

Iowa State was fueled by a balanced scoring attack as five players secured double figures. Cameron Lard came away with 18 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Donovan Jackson, Nick Weiler-Babb and Lindell Wigginton secured 13 points apiece, and Weiler-Babb also accounted for seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks. Zoren Talley, Jr. notched 11 points off the bench.

Facing a 33-20 deficit at the 2:36 mark of the opening half, Texas Tech pieced together an Evans trey and two Smith free throws to bring the hole back down to eight points at halftime.

The Red Raiders continued their charge out of the locker room with 10 of the first 11 points to snatch a 35-34 edge with 16:31 left.

Texas Tech cashed in a pair of second-chance buckets courtesy of Gray and Culver to spark the flurry. Then, a Culver steal turned into to reverse 360 jam from Smith. Ondigo got into the act with a friendly bounce off a jump hook on the right baseline, and Smith soared through the air for another highlight reel dunk from Evans to put the Red Raiders in-front.

The Cyclones answered with a 13-1 run of their own over the next 5:11 off the clock to go back ahead by double digits. Iowa State got it rolling with two Weiler-Babb free throws, a Lard layup, a Jackson jumper, a Jackson three-pointer and a Wigginton jumper to make it 47-36 with 11:03 to go.

Iowa State stretched it to a 20-point lead at 69-49 with 4:07 remaining behind a quartet of three-balls, two from Weiler-Babb, down the stretch.

The Cyclones started fast and rattled home six of their first eight field goals attempts en route to a 14-4 edge at the 15:18 mark capped by a traditional Weiler-Babb three-point play.

"Some of our key guys didn't produce," Beard said. "I'll be the first to take the responsibility for that. In our program, it's not a deal where the coaches are here and the players are there. We're all in this together. I take the responsibility myself, and it starts with me. I need to try and put our players in a better position on Tuesday in our next Big 12 game. Iowa State could beat a lot of team in college basketball with the way they played today. They shared the ball, they defended and they played spirited. When we gave them our best punch early in the second half, they got back up. That's what I'm really looking forward to with our team. Can we respond to this adversity?"

UP NEXT
Texas Tech makes a brief stop at home for a Tuesday matchup with Oklahoma State. Tip time is on-tap for 6 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPNews along with the ESPN app.

Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by liking TexasTechMBB on Facebook along with following @TexasTechMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.