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Iowa State's Rally Comes Up Short As Oklahoma Advances in Big 12 Championship

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Basketball

Iowa State (2-22, 0-18 Big 12) fell 79-73 to No. 25 Oklahoma (15-9, 9-8 Big 12) in the first round of the Big 12 Championship on Wednesday at Sprint Center.

Rasir Bolton scored a team-high 16 points, all of which came in the second half. Jalen Coleman-Lands (14) and Javan Johnson (10) joined Bolton in double figures. Senior Solomon Young put up eight points and a season-high 12 rebounds.

How It Happened
The Cyclones struggled to find a rhythm on the offensive end in the opening half vs. the seventh-seeded Sooners. Iowa State shot just 33 percent (11-of-33) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including 4-fo-16 from 3-point range.

However, Iowa State stayed within striking distance through much of the first half. Javan Johnson scored six straight Cyclone points, followed by a George Conditt bucket to knot the score at 13-13 with 10:38 to play in the period. Following a 10-2 OU spurt, Tre Jackson and Jalen Colman-Lands splashed home back-to-back triples to narrow the deficit to just 23-21 with 5:03 remaining until halftime.

The Sooners closed the half strong, leading by as many as 10 until a Tyler Harris layup in the final minute cut the Oklahoma lead to 36-28 at intermission. Johnson scored a team-high eight points, while Solomon Young pulled down nine rebounds in the first half.

Oklahoma took control early in the second stanza, reeling off an 11-0 run to take its largest lead of the day at 51-32 with 12:16 to play. Seven of OU's 11 points during the stretch were scored by De'Vion Harmon.

The Cyclones clawed their way back into the game once more, putting together a 14-2 run highlighted by six points from freshman Jaden Walker. Coleman-Lands splashed home his third 3-pointer of the night to cap the run, cutting Oklahoma's lead to just 60-54 with 3:31 remaining in the game.

Oklahoma's Austin Reaves scored the Sooners' next seven points to stem the Cyclone tide, holding off Iowa State's furious comeback attempt. A Rasir Bolton and-one with 45 seconds remaining cut the deficit to just 72-67, but that was as close as the Cyclones would get to completing their rally.