AMES, Iowa -- Two weeks ago, Iowa State could barely make a shot. Now the surging Cyclones are one of the hottest teams around.
Iowa State came up with one of its best efforts this season on Saturday, beating No. 25 Texas Tech 81-68 for its fifth straight victory -- a streak that started after the Cyclones had lost six in a row and looked to be in disarray.
Jared Homan broke out of a shooting slump to lead the way with 23 points and freshman Tasheed Carr scored 17 as part of a solid all-around game.
"It's great because a few weeks ago, nobody thought we could do it. Nobody thought we could win games," Carr said. "We continued to play hard and play with confidence. We just wanted to prove to people that we can play and that we are one of the upper teams in this league."
Iowa State (13-8, 5-5 Big 12) rallied from an early 15-point deficit to go up by 12 midway through the second half, then held off the Red Raiders several times for its fourth victory over a ranked team this season.
Texas Tech (15-6, 7-3) lost for just the third time in 13 games. The Red Raiders, who entered the Top 25 for the first time this season on Monday, got 27 points from Ronald Ross but committed an uncharacteristic 18 turnovers, five more than their season average.
"We had a great start and then we just had some lapses," Tech's Darryl Dora said. "That's what we've been fighting these past four games. We get off to a good start, then we fall off and other teams come back into the game. That's what basically happened and we couldn't fight our way out of it."
Homan, a 6-foot-10 senior, had been shooting only 37 percent in conference play. But he was 8-of-12 in this one and scored 12 points in the first 7½ minutes of the second half, when the Cyclones first started to pull away.
"It's just the law of mathematics. I couldn't miss much more," said Homan, who was 1-for-10 in a victory at Nebraska last Tuesday. "Percentages were in my favor. I was getting great dishes. I got the ball right were I needed it. I was just able to finish and hit some shots."
Carr was 7-for-13 from the field, including three 3-pointers, and added eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Will Blalock scored 15 points and Curtis Stinson added 13 for Iowa State, which delighted a sellout crowd that included former coach Johnny Orr and members of his 1985 NCAA tournament team.
"Our defense got better as the game went on and we were able to stop some things," Iowa State coach Wayne Morgan said.
The offense picked it up as well with a 49-point second half.
With Iowa State leading 45-42, Homan and Stinson converted three-point plays and Carr made a 3-pointer to lead an 11-2 run that made it 56-44. Tech came back with 10 straight points to draw to 56-54 but never got any closer.
After Iowa State stretched the lead to 60-54, Tech got within four points four times. But Iowa State answered each time and finally the put the Red Raiders away after Joey Hawkins' tip-in cut it to 66-62.
Rahshon Clark, who had entered the game only moments earlier, hit a 3-pointer from the left corner and Carr scored on a breakaway, starting an 11-3 burst that made it 79-68 with 1:03 remaining.
"I thought we did a pretty good job in the second half of staying within a distance where if we make a play here or there, it's going to put us in a position to have a chance to win," Tech coach Bob Knight said. "But we have not been good at any time this year when we've had a good lead."
Iowa State's '84-85 team included future NBA players Jeff Hornacek and Jeff Grayer and high-scoring Barry Stevens. For awhile, it looked as though the current team would have to call on them because the Cyclones were wilting from Tech's sizzling start.
Ross made four of his first five shots, including two 3-pointers, to help the Red Raiders jumped to a 21-6 lead. A 3-pointer by Jarrius Jackson, who finished with 19 points for Tech, made it 24-10 and the fans were growing uneasy.
Iowa State then started forcing turnovers with its zone traps and scored in transition. Carr hit two 3-pointers and scored on a breakaway layup during a 14-2 run that cut the lead to 26-24, and Iowa State went up 32-30 on Blalock's pull-up jumper.
Ross' reverse layup made it 32-all at halftime and Tech led only once in the second half, 36-34 after four straight points by Ross.
