Men's Basketball Falls to No. 5 Oklahoma, 89-75

NORMAN, Okla. - Aaron McGhee continued his outstanding February run right through his final home game.

The senior forward had 26 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday night to lead No. 5 Oklahoma to an 89-75 victory over Iowa State.

The double-double was McGhee's 11th of the season and his seventh in the past nine games. He has scored at least 20 points in six of the past seven.

"It was just a special night," McGhee said. "It's a credit to the program, all the hard work we're putting in. To go undefeated at home is just a great accomplishment."

The Sooners (23-4, 12-3 Big 12) won their 22nd straight at home to close out a 16-0 season, their first perfect home mark since 1994-95.

Hollis Price added 24 points for Oklahoma, which had already locked up the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 tournament and now is angling for the same seeding in the NCAA tournament.

"It's amazing how Kelvin has been able to blend this team so quickly," Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy said of his counterpart, Kelvin Sampson. "I really thought we guarded them pretty good and they scored 89 points."

Tyray Pearson scored 20 points for Iowa State (12-17, 4-11), which had won three of four, but fell to 0-10 on the road. Shane Power added 14 points, and Jake Sullivan and Ricky Morgan each had 12.

McGhee, one of four seniors honored before the game, had 12 points in the opening 5:44 of the second half when the Sooners outscored Iowa State 23-8 to take a 55-33 lead.

"I can't believe the improvement in a year," Eustachy said of McGhee. "His game isn't dictated by offense anymore. He's a pro, is what he is."

Sullivan helped lead the Cyclones back, scoring eight points in a 16-5 spurt that made it 60-49.

The score was 61-51 when Price hit a 3-pointer, converted a three-point play and had a steal that led to a layup by Daryan Selvy and a 69-51 lead. The Cyclones got no closer than the final margin after that.

Oklahoma only led 32-25 at halftime despite holding the Cyclones to 30 percent shooting. The Sooners scored the game's first seven points and once led by as many as 10, but Iowa State used a 6-0 run late in the half to get within 26-22. Price scored Oklahoma's final three baskets to give the Sooners the seven-point lead.

Pearson was about the only thing the Cyclones had going for them in the first half, scoring 12 points and grabbing five rebounds. Sullivan missed all five of his first-half shots but wasn't alone - outside of Pearson, the Cylones were 3-of-14 from the field.

"You always get a little bit concerned about senior night. I think sometimes, kids have a hard time separating senior night from the game," Sampson said. "There's so many emotions. I saw a lot of senior nightitis out there.

"In the second half we just made a lot of shots. I thought we got in a real good groove."

Sullivan, the Cyclones' second-leading scorer at 16.6 per game, finished 5-of-16 from the field.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ricky Morgan

Ricky Morgan

Tyray Pearson

Tyray Pearson

Shane Power

Shane Power

Jake Sullivan

Jake Sullivan

Jake Sullivan

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics