Eight wins. Zero losses.

When Iowa State’s stat sheet-stuffing sophomore forward Royce White has been held to seven or fewer points this season, the Cyclones have yet to lose a game. Battling foul trouble and a defensive scheme drawn up by coaching veteran Lon Kruger, White scored only four points against Kruger’s Oklahoma squad on Saturday.

However, as the aforementioned 8-0 record suggests, Iowa State (19-8, 9-5 Big 12) capitalized on a 13-0 second-half run and a season-high 25 points from senior guard Scott Christopherson to cruise past the Sooners (13-13, 3-11) 80-69 in front of a sellout crowd of 14,376 at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday.

“[White] is such a good player that you’ve got to give him a little extra attention,” Kruger said following his team’s sixth straight loss. “But you try to tell the guys that are giving him extra attention to not go any farther than they can [still] get back to the shooters. [It’s] obviously easier said then done.

“They’ve got a lot of weapons and if you go just a half a stride too far, then White’s got a real good feel of getting the ball back to shooters at the right time, and he did that.”

While White struggled to find a shot on offense, he found teammates who were in a rhythm offensively. White, who has dished out five or more assists in 10 of 14 conference games, finished with eight assists despite playing only 23 minutes, well below his usual 30.6 per game.

“We just found something that was working for us,” said ISU coach Fred Hoiberg. “It was some high screen-and-rolls just right in the outer third of the court and we did a good job of diving with that and hitting the roll man on a few occasions, and again Percy [Gibson] stepping in on that weak side and hitting some shots.”

With senior forward Anthony Booker benched by what Hoiberg described as a “coach’s decision” and sophomore forward Melvin Ejim ejected after an intentional foul late in the second half, freshman forward Gibson gave some valuable minutes in the post for the Big 12’s third-place team.

“Really it was just my teammates [were finding] me, so I was just able to get easy buckets,” Gibson said. “I definitely felt like I was in the flow of the game.”

The 6-foot-9-inch left-hander from Detroit scored in double figures for the second time this season with 11 points and snagged a season-high seven rebounds in 23 minutes on the floor.

“Percy was great,” said ISU coach Fred Hoiberg. “He’s kept himself ready, he’s gotten himself extra shots and he does such a good job of scoring around the basket. He got himself fouled and got us to the line a few teams when we got a little stagnant, and then he does such a good job finishing around the rim. He’s so crafty down there.”

Gibson’s effort on the defensive end also impressed his coach as the Cyclones held the OU forward tandem of Romero Osby and Andrew Fitzgerald to a combined 12 points after the pair totaled 44 in the first meeting on Feb. 4.

“I thought his defense was solid today and that’s an area where he needed to get better, and he’s definitely growing on that end of the floor,” Hoiberg said.

The addition of Gibson’s solid play, especially on a night when the rest of Iowa State’s bigs faced its issues, is a positive sign as the end of the regular season gets nearer.

“I thought he did exactly what they needed him to do,” Kruger said of Gibson. “He’s a guy that’s a big strong target inside and when guys drive and kick to him, he finishes opportunities there.”

After winning both games against the Sooners this season, the Cyclones will go for another conference opponent sweep when they host Texas Tech (8-18, 1-13 Big 12) on Wednesday. Tipoff at Hilton Coliseum is scheduled for 8 p.m.