A season-high 25 points from Scott Christopherson helped the Cyclones overcome 17 turnovers, as the ISU men’s basketball team defeated visiting Oklahoma 80-69 at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday.

The Lowdown

After trailing by nine at halftime, Oklahoma (13-13, 3-11 Big 12) trimmed Iowa State’s lead down to five with 11:04 left to play. Then Iowa State took control.

A 13-0 run highlighted by a pair of 3s from Christopherson put the Cyclones (19-8, 9-5 Big 12) ahead by 18 with 8:43 to play and well on their way to their ninth victory in Big 12 play. Oklahoma cut the lead down to 11 in the game’s final minute but time ran out on the Sooners as they dropped their sixth straight in Big 12 play.

Only 35 fouls were called on Saturday but two were deemed intentional. OU junior forward Romero Osby was called for one as he wrapped up ISU sophomore forward Melvin Ejim on a fast break, and then Ejim was whistled for a shove on OU junior guard Carl Blair Jr. Ejim, who scored 10 points and led Iowa State with 14 rebounds, was ejected for the call after a review by the officials.

Turning Point

After a pair of free throws by OU junior guard Steven Pledger brought Iowa State’s lead to only five with 11:04 to play, Christopherson found freshman forward Percy Gibson for a layup that would ignite a 13-0 ISU run.

Christopherson had his hand in four of the five consecutive scores by the Cyclones, burying two 3s and a jumper and dishing the assist to Gibson. Junior guard Tyrus McGee also knocked down a three during the run to up the Iowa State lead to 15.

X Factor

ISU guard Scott Christopherson

The senior from LaCrosse, Wis. poured in a season-high 25 points to lead the Cyclones in a season sweep of the Sooners. Combined with 24 points from his freshman season at Marquette, Christopherson eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau for his career, finishing Saturday’s game with a career total of 1,006.

Christopherson’s shooting from three-point range keyed the Cyclones’ second-half push as he buried five of his eight shots from beyond the arc. The 6-foot-3-inch guard also pulled down four rebounds and had one assist.

By the numbers

7: rebounds for Gibson, tying a career-high. The freshman from Detroit also scored 11 points off the bench.

8-0: record for Iowa State when sophomore forward and leading scorer Royce White is held under 10 points. The 6-foot-8-inch forward battled foul trouble on Saturday and managed only four points.

+12: rebounding margin in favor of Iowa State (40-28).

18-3: record for Iowa State this season when leading at halftime.

19: wins for Iowa State this season, the first time it has reached that mark in the regular season since the 2004-2005 season.

20: assists on 28 made field goals for the Cyclones, setting a new high for the team in conference play this season.

50: percentage of 3s made by the Cyclones – 11 for 22 – equaling the percentage from the first meeting between the two teams when the Cyclones made 15 of 30 shots from beyond the arc.

1,006: career points for Christopherson who scored 24 as a freshman at Marquette and has 982 so far as a Cyclone.

Next up for Iowa State

The Cyclones will host Texas Tech at 8 p.m. on Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum. The Red Raiders (8-17, 1-12 Big 12) fell to Texas A&M 47-38 on Tuesday night and travel to Kansas on Saturday for a 7 p.m. showdown.

Texas Tech is led in scoring by freshman Jordan Tolbert who is averaging 11.4 points per game. Iowa State defeated the Red Raiders 76-52 in Lubbock, Texas on Jan. 21 behind 20 points from junior guard Tyrus McGee.