Grill scores 20 as No. 25 Iowa State tops Oklahoma 63-60
By CLIFF BRUNT
AP Sports Writer
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Caleb Grill scored 20 points and No. 25 Iowa State held on to beat Oklahoma 63-60 on Wednesday night.
Osun Osunniyi added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Cyclones (11-2, 2-0 Big 12).
Grill shot 5 of 9 on 3-pointers, hitting a big one that put the Cyclones up 61-58 with 33 seconds remaining.
“I thought we lost Grill,” Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said. “It was part of the game plan and he hunts 3s and he did it. … He got five 3s and he got fouled on a 3. He was a key to the game and we didn’t get that done.”
Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger thought Grill impacted the game from the beginning.
“He starts out the game and he’s got it going, it really spaces out the floor and gives our guys confidence,” Otzelberger said. “It’s a huge weapon for us because you’ve got to pay so much attention to him, it’s hard to switch things and do things because you don’t want to let him have any space.”
Jalen Hill scored 16 and Tanner Groves had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Sooners (9-5, 0-2). Oklahoma was coming off a 70-69 home loss to No. 6 Texas.
Moser wants to keep his team more motivated than frustrated.
“It’s got to start with me,” he said. “If I look frustrated, they’re going to be. So it starts with me. The only thing I know how to do is to stay up all night watching Texas Tech, try to figure out how to beat Texas Tech, come in tomorrow with a great game plan, with an energy level.”
Oklahoma’s Grant Sherfield, who was averaging 18.3 points per game, finished with four on 1-for-7 shooting.
“They were denying Grant the ball,” Moser said. “And he’s earned that. That’s what happens. You know, we were trying to deny Grill. I mean, you’ve got to work.”
Iowa State led 61-60 late but turned the ball over on an inbounds pass with 7.5 seconds remaining. Oklahoma turned it right back over with 6.5 seconds to play. Osunniyi hit two free throws with 5.4 seconds left to make it 63-60, and Groves missed an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Iowa State made nine of its first 14 field goal attempts and jumped out to a 22-5 advantage in the first 7 1/2 minutes.
Oklahoma rallied, and a 3-pointer by Bijan Cortes tied the game at 25. Hill’s baseline jumper gave the Sooners a 27-25 lead with about three minutes remaining in the first half. It was the final basket of a 20-0 run that lasted more than nine minutes.
Oklahoma went the entire stretch with Sherfield on the bench.
“I thought the first half was a tale of two stories,” Moser said. “It was the story of one group that defended as poor as a team that I’ve seen defend. And then we made some subs and we had some energy. And then we flipped it.”
The score was tied 29-all at the break, and the game was close throughout the second half.
Otzelberger expected the Sooners to make it a game, even after Iowa State’s fast start.
“They are a team with a really good spirit and they’re going to fight back and they’re going to continue to,” Otzelberger said. “Every time we threw a punch, they counterpunched, and we were fortunate just to throw enough and to get enough stops there down the stretch to find a way to come out with the W.”
BIG PICTURE
Iowa State: The Cyclones refocused after squandering their big first-half lead. They made nine of 11 free throws in the second half to help seal the win.
Oklahoma: The Sooners hung tough despite Sherfield’s off night. He had scored in double figures the first 13 games this season.
UP NEXT
Iowa State: A visit to No. 17 TCU on Saturday.
Oklahoma: Plays at Texas Tech on Saturday.
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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: twitter.com/CliffBruntAP
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