United Group Insurance

Texas downs Iowa St. 68-64 behind play of Osetkowski

Sports

March 8th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Dylan Osetkowski provided the points, Jericho Sims pulled down the rebounds and Kerwin Roach was the glue that held Texas together during its Big 12 Tournament win over Iowa State. Which was altogether fitting, considering glue wound up holding Roach’s tooth together.

The veteran guard took a wicked elbow to his mouth midway through the first half Wednesday night, sending half of his front tooth skittering across the floor. He got it glued together at halftime, came back to make some crucial plays down the stretch, and ultimately helped the seventh-seeded Longhorns to a 68-64 victory over the Cyclones at the packed Sprint Center.

Osetkowski had 20 points, Sims had 15 boards and Jase Fabres added 12 points for the Longhorns (19-13), who advanced to play second-seeded Texas Tech in today’s (Thursday’s) quarterfinals.

The Cyclones (13-18) forged a 58-all tie on a basket by Zoran Talley Jr. with 5 minutes left, but Matt Coleman started a run of six straight points that gave Texas a cushion. Coleman then scored again with 43.1 seconds left, giving the Longhorns a 68-64 advantage in the back-and-forth affair.

Lindell Wigginton turned the ball over on the Cyclones’ next possession, ending any comeback. Wigginton finished with 20 points and eight boards for Iowa State, but he also committed nine turnovers against two assists. Cameron Lard had 14 points and Talley had 12 points and nine rebounds.

Iowa State committed 17 turnovers, most of them unforced, and that wiped out an otherwise solid shooting performance. It also wiped out the Cyclones’ stingy defense, which held Texas to 8 of 31 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Iowa State heads back to Ames to begin working on next season.