ISU beats Oklahoma State at buzzer

AMES (AP) ? Scott Christopherson?s buzzer beater was a first.

Christopherson banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cap a late rally that gave Iowa State a 71-68 victory over Oklahoma State on Wednesday night.

?I?ve never done something like that before,? the senior guard said. ?Not even in high school, not even in middle school. It was a good feeling.?

The Cyclones fell behind 66-60 with less than three minutes to play.

But Christopherson hit a 3-pointer and driving layup to cut the lead to one, and after Keiton Page sank two free throws for Oklahoma State, Tyrus McGee nailed a 3 to tie it at 68-all with 16.8 seconds remaining.

The Cowboys had a chance for the final shot, but McGee, who gave the Cyclones a huge lift off the bench with 17 points, knocked the ball off Markel Brown?s leg, and it rolled out of bounds with 4.8 seconds left.

?He was our energy guy all night long,? Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said. ?We don?t have Tyrus tonight, no way we win that ballgame.?

Iowa State (13-5, 3-2 Big 12) inbounded, and Christopherson dribbled up the floor. He stopped 2 feet from the 3-point line and launched his game winner over the 5-foot-8 Page, touching off a wild celebration among the ISU players.

Christopherson was mobbed, then jumped up onto the scorers table to salute the crowd. After a video review by the officials, the basket stood.

?I didn?t know he could jump that high,? Hoiberg cracked.

Christopherson and Royce White also scored 17 points each for the Cyclones. McGee, at 6-2, grabbed nine rebounds and White, who sat out much of the first half because of fouls, handed out six assists while shooting 7 for 10 from the field.

Iowa State led 31-29 at halftime and appeared to be taking control when Christopherson and McGee hit back-to-back 3-pointers for a 57-52 lead midway through the second half.

But Oklahoma State, coming off a 41-point loss to Baylor, clawed back. Page came off a screen on the right side to hit a 3-pointer to put OSU up 61-60, and he hit another 3 from the left wing for a 64-60 lead with 4 minutes left, forcing an Iowa State timeout. When Le?Bryan Nash scored inside, the lead was six, and Iowa State appeared to be reeling.

Christopherson and McGee then got the Cyclones back in it.

?This is probably the first time since I?ve been here that in the last three or four minutes of the game, this team has gotten down by five or six points and had all the momentum on the other team?s side, and then pulled together and did what we needed to do to put ourselves in a spot to win,? Christopherson said.

?Obviously the last-second shot, people will pay a lot of attention to that. But Tyrus strips the ball and gives us a chance to get off that last-second shot.?