Avery Anderson III equaled his season high with 18 points to lead Oklahoma State to a 61-59 come-from-behind victory over No. 12 Iowa State on Saturday in Big 12 play at Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The Cowboys trailed by as many as 16 in the first half but turned up the heat defensively in the second half, and Anderson heated up offensively after scoring just four points in the first half.
Moussa Cisse was limited to just 14 minutes due to an ankle injury, but the junior came up with one of the biggest plays of the game.
After Iowa State’s Tre King missed a 3-pointer in the final 20 seconds, Cisse finally came down with the ball after it popped into the air multiple times.
Still, the Cyclones had a desperation try to win it at the buzzer, but Gabe Kalscheur’s 3-pointer from past midcourt was just off to the right, giving the Cowboys the victory.
Oklahoma State shot 61.1 percent from the floor in the second half.
Kalib Boone added 13 points for the Cowboys (11-8, 3-4 Big 12).
Osun Osunniyi led Iowa State (14-4, 5-2) with 15 points, while Kalscheur added 14.
Oklahoma State scored 12 points off seven Cyclones turnovers in the second half after not scoring on any of Iowa State’s three first-half turnovers.
After falling behind early, the Cowboys stormed back to tie it with a 20-8 run.
John-Michael Wright, who had missed his only shot in the game’s first 23 minutes, scored eight consecutive points to end the stretch.
Wright hit back-to-back 3-pointers, then hit a jumper with just more than 12 minutes remaining to tie the game for the first time since the game was less than 90 seconds old.
The Cyclones raced to a big lead early, starting the game with a 25-9 run over more than 11 minutes.
Iowa State scored nine points off five Oklahoma State turnovers during the initial run.
The Cowboys reeled off a 14-4 run late in the half to pull within six before the Cyclones stretched the lead back to 10 at the break, thanks to King’s steal that set up one basket, and his jumper just before halftime that made it 35-25.
–Field Level Media
