AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - After a 14-0 start, Iowa State was soaring.
What the Cyclones wouldn’t give for some of that quickly-fading confidence now.
Jonathan Holmes scored 23 points and Cam Ridley had 16 points and 11 rebounds as Texas beat No. 8 Iowa State 86-76 Saturday, sending the Cyclones to their third straight loss.
Now Iowa State (14-3, 2-3) is in need of a big win to get its Big 12 season back on track. The Cyclones have lost three in a row for the first time since 2010-2011 season and have a week at home before facing Kansas State on Jan. 25.
“These guys want to be in the gym,” Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said. “They’ll look at themselves first.”
An early lead and late rally couldn’t overcome a rash of turnovers and long stretches of misfires from 3-point range. The Cyclones also struggled with the Longhorns’ size and strength with Holmes and Ridley under the basket.
Georges Niang scored 18 to lead Iowa State and Elvin Ejim scored 17 as the Cyclones went 11 of 32 on 3-pointers. DeAndre Kane, who scored at least 20 in the previous three games, scored 15 but disappeared from the Cyclones’ offense for long stretches.
Iowa State struggled to find scoring when 3-pointers misfired and couldn’t match the physical presence of Holmes and Ridley in the second half. Iowa State outrebounded Texas 40-37 but shot just 39 percent and committed 15 turnovers that led to 15 Texas points.
The Cyclones looked comfortable early as 3-point shooting built a 29-20 lead. But five straight turnovers by the Cyclones helped Texas close the half with a 16-7 run. Longhorns guard Javan Felix’s catch-and-shoot 3-pointer tied it at 36-36.
“We couldn’t keep the momentum going because we couldn’t stop turning the ball over,” Hoiberg said.
Texas built a 51-44 lead over the first seven minutes of the second half. The Cyclones committed four fouls in a 50-second stretch and Holmes made three straight baskets, two off them putback layups off misses.
Texas looked ready to put the game away when Ridley made a tough layup then followed with a rim-shaking trailing dunk after a miss. Niang slowed Texas’ momentum with a 3-pointer, but the Longhorns quickly grabbed it again when Felix made a 3-pointer and Holmes came up with two more big plays: a tip-in and a driving layup over two defenders that pushed the lead to 67-58 with 7 minutes to play.
“He’s a beast,” Hoiberg said of Ridley. “He was a tough matchup for us in terms of size and strength.”
Texas pushed the lead as high as 75-61.
Iowa State slowly chipped away and Ejim pulled the Cylones within 76-71 on a long 3-pointer from the right corner with 1:29 left. Texas sealed the win with a fast-break layup from Felix and free throws down the stretch.
Texas is gaining confidence with each victory.
It took Texas (14-4, 3-2) nearly a month to get its first Big 12 win last season, the program’s first losing season in 15 years. Texas started 0-2 in the league again this year, but the Longhorns have now won three in a row.
“We feel we’re as good as anybody when we put our best on the floor,” Felix said.
The schedule will keep testing that with Kansas State, Baylor and Kansas in the next three games. But it’s clear Texas can make trouble for any team on the right day.
“I told our guys, ’We’ll see how we handle it,’” Texas coach Rick Barnes said.
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