Cyclones impressive in reaching semis

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Joshua Jefferson had 18 points and 13 rebounds, longtime running mate Tamin Lipsey scored 20 and seventh-ranked Iowa State used a big second-half run to bury No. 16 Texas Tech 75-53 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.

The fifth-seeded Cyclones (27-6) fell behind by 12 early in the game, pulled ahead by halftime, then used a 19-3 run shortly out of the break to earn a Friday night date with second-ranked and No. 1 seed Arizona for a spot in the title game.

LeJuan Watts had led the Red Raiders (22-10) with 12 points. Christian Anderson had 10 before he appeared to strain a muscle while slipping on the glass court being used by the Big 12 for its postseason tournament with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the game.

Several players in both the women’s and men’s tourneys have complained of its slick nature.

The teams traded haymakers to start the game — No. 4 seed Texas Tech opened on a 17-5 run and Iowa State countered a few minutes later with a 15-2 charge of its own — before the game settled into a back-and-forth battle between top 20 teams.

There were nine lead changes in the first half, and Jamarion Batemon’s buzzer-beating 3 gave the Cyclones a 36-33 halftime lead.

Iowa State turned up the pressure another level in the second half, holding the Red Raiders to just two field goals over the first 9 1/2 minutes. And on the other end of the floor, Texas Tech had no answer for Jefferson, the 6-foot-9, 240-pound All-Big 12 forward, whose ability to split defenders and power his way to the basket had Grant McCasland’s team thoroughly frustrated.

That’s when Iowa State, which set a Big 12 Tournament record by beating Arizona State by 49 in the second round, put together its long run against the Red Raiders and assumed control of the game.