Men's Basketball: Late spurt finishes Cyclones' season

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Midway through the second half Wednesday night, 11th-seeded Iowa State looked like it might join the upset parade at the Big 12 men's basketball tournament.

The Cyclones, having seen underdogs Nebraska and Texas Tech win, were within a point of No. 6 seed Texas with 8:55 to play.

But ISU missed 11 straight field goals after that, allowing the Longhorns to sneak away with an 82-75 victory.

It was appropriate that forward Damion James hit a 3-pointer to start Texas' 11-0 outburst that turned the game. The first-team All-Big 12 pick led all scorers with 28 points.

James also snagged two big rebounds of missed free throws in the final 1:05 to keep Iowa State from getting closer than six points.

Texas appeared ready to pull away early in the second half.

James, who had 10 points at halftime, added 10 more in the first 8:14 of the period to give the Longhorns a 54-46 lead.

But Iowa State used 3-pointers from Diante Garrett and Craig Brackins in a surge that cut the deficit to 60-59 with 8:55 left.

Then came Texas' 11-0 run.

Iowa State (15-17) finished with a fourth straight losing season under fourth-year coach Greg McDermott. Texas is 24-8 and will play Baylor tonight.

Iowa State started the game in a 7-0 hole after two minutes, but quickly bounced back to tie it 9-9 on guard Scott Christopherson's 3-pointer.

The Cyclones took their first lead at 17-16 on forward LaRon Dendy's jumper, then a Brackins jumper made it 19-18 ISU.

Texas regained the lead for the rest of the half on guard Avery Bradley's jumper, and extended the margin to six points three times. But Brackins hit a late jumper in the lane to cut Texas' lead at halftime to 31-28.

Marquis Gilstrap led Iowa State with 17 points, while Brackins added 15 and Garrett 14.

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444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com