Field Level Media
Feb 11, 2023
John-Michael Wright matched his season high with 19 points to help lift Oklahoma State to a 64-56 win against No. 11 Iowa State in a Big 12 Conference game on Saturday afternoon in Ames, Iowa.
Bryce Thompson scored 12 points and Caleb Asberry added 10 for Oklahoma State (16-9, 7-5 Big 12), which has won five in a row.
Aljaz Kunc scored 13 points off the bench and Tamin Lipsey added 12 for Iowa State (16-8, 7-5), which came in 12-0 at home this season.
Wright made a steal at midcourt and scored on an uncontested dunk to tie the score 40-40 with 15:07 remaining.
Neither team led by more than three points for a span of 12:41 until Wright made another steal, leading to a 3-pointer in transition by Asberry for a 55-50 lead with 4:38 left.
Caleb Grill, an 83.3-percent free throw shooter coming in for the Cyclones, had a chance to cut the deficit to two with 1:51 left, but missed two of three free throws and then fouled Asberry on the rebound.
Asberry made two free throws on the other end to stretch the lead to 61-55, and the Cowboys continued to pull away.
Iowa State shot 9-for-19 from the line and missed the front end of four 1-and-1 situations.
Iowa State held the Cowboys scoreless over the final 3 1/2 minutes of the first half, but the Cyclones didn't take advantage of their strong defense, scoring just two points over the final four minutes of the opening half to take a 32-26 lead into the break.
Both teams shot under 40 percent from the floor in the opening half.
After committing just seven fouls in the first half, the Cyclones committed five in less than five minutes of the second, allowing the Cowboys to begin crawling back.
Oklahoma State played its third straight game without senior point guard Avery Anderson III, the team's third-leading scorer (11.1 points per game) who has a wrist injury.
The Cowboys beat Iowa State 61-59 in Stillwater, Okla., on Jan. 21, rallying from a 16-point deficit to complete their largest comeback victory since 2009.
--Field Level Media