Published September 19, 2015
Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg doesn't want his team to shrug off its first loss.
He wants it to linger. Not just the loss, but how it happened.
Buddy Hield scored 22 points and Ryan Spangler added 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to help Oklahoma knock off the Cyclones 87-82 Saturday. Isaiah Cousins added 17 points for the Sooners (13-3, 2-1 Big 12), who ended No. 9 Iowa State's school-best winning streak at 14 games.
The most bothersome stat for Iowa State: Oklahoma's 22-2 advantage in second-chance points.
"The big thing I told our guys is that this needs to hurt," Hoiberg said. "We gave away a golden opportunity because we couldn't secure the rebounds."
DeAndre Kane had 23 points and nine rebounds, but the Big 12's assists leader left the game after injuring his ankle with 22 seconds remaining.
"It looked like he was making a play to the basket, and I'm assuming that he stepped on one of their players' feet," Hoiberg said. "I'm guessing that's how he turned it."
Melvin Ejim added 21 points and six rebounds, Georges Niang scored 14 points and Dustin Hogue added 13 for the Cyclones (14-1, 2-1).
"I just think we got off our rhythm," Niang said. "We didn't move the ball around and didn't play with good pace like we usually do. We're a fast team and we like to get up. I just think we didn't do that, and they capitalized on that."
The Sooners won despite a rough day for Cameron Clark. The Big 12's leading scorer finished with 12 points on 4-for-16 shooting. The Sooners were fine because they matched a season high with 13 3-pointers and outrebounded the Cyclones 41-34.
Ejim's 3-pointer with 2:39 remaining gave Iowa State its first lead since early in the second half. Spangler came right back with an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Sooners a 79-77 lead. After Oklahoma got a stop, Hield scored on a layup to bump the lead to four.
Ejim missed a putback dunk on the other end and OU rebounded. Cousins made two free throws with 57.9 seconds to play, pushing the Sooners' lead to six.
Hield missed a pair of free throws to leave an opening for the Cyclones, but they couldn't take advantage.
The teams were tied at 39 at halftime, but Oklahoma was hot out of the break. The Sooners hit four 3-pointers in the first six minutes, including three by Hield, to take a 56-46 lead.
After forcing an Iowa State turnover, Hield raised his arms to get the crowd going, Shortly after that, Cousins hit a three to push the lead to 13 and force an Iowa State timeout.
The Cyclones started to creep back into the game. Kane made a pair of free throws to cut Oklahoma's lead to 64-58 with 8:59 to play. Iowa State cut the lead to three, but Niang committed his fourth foul with 7:42 remaining.
Oklahoma regained control with the kind of intensity it demonstrated throughout the game. Spangler hustled for an offensive rebound, leading to a 3-pointer by Jordan Woodard that bumped the Sooners' lead back to 71-63.
A baseline dunk by Iowa State's Hogue trimmed Oklahoma's lead to 76-74 and set up the final three minutes.
From there, Oklahoma was the better team.
"Give them credit," Hoiberg said. "They had a good game plan, and it's a game I'm sure they were talking about they had to win. Give them credit, they did."
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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/cyclones-get-beat-up-on-boards-lose-for-first-time-as-oklahoma-defeats-isu-87-82