Every time Iowa State began to gain any semblance of second-half momentum Saturday, Texas Tech had an answer.

Whether it was a 3-pointer on one end, a block on the other or just stingy work on the defensive backboards, the Red Raiders simply refused to buckle to what has been dubbed Hilton Magic.

The result was another significant victory against a foe ranked No. 6 or higher this season, 82-73, which also marked the Cyclones’ first home loss of the season.

Donovan Atwell scored 18 points, hitting six 3-pointers, Luke Bamgboye delivered his best game since stepping in as a starter for the injured J.T. Toppin with 13 points and Christian Anderson navigated second-half foul trouble to score 12 points and dish out seven assists as No. 16 Texas Tech (22-7, 12-4 Big 12) moved into a tie for second place in the conference with Houston.

The Red Raiders are 3-0 since losing Toppin, the 2025 Big 12 Player of the Year, to a season-ending knee injury.

No. 4 Iowa State (24-5, 11-5) got 22 points from Joshua Jefferson and 20 from Milan Momcilovic, but couldn’t quite dig out of a hole that grew as deep as 45-25 late in the first half.

The Cyclones crept back within 65-59 with 7:08 to play on Tamin Lipsey’s dribble-drive bucket and the capacity home crowd was at a full-throat roar.

That rally came after Iowa State was unable to chip away at a 16-point deficit despite Anderson getting tagged with his fourth foul right before the first media timeout of the second half and heading to the bench for nearly 6 minutes.

Jaylen Petty and Tyeree Bryan stepped up with Anderson sidelined, sharing the lead guard responsibilities and scoring a combined 17 points in the second half.

More importantly, Petty helped Texas Tech regain its footing after the Cyclones made their run. He pulled up for a timely 3-pointer and moments later hit a mid-range jump shot late in the shot clock. Both buckets came after Bamgboye blocked shots at the rim.

Atwell sank his final 3 with 4:47 remaining, and Bryan finished a 10-0 run with a driving layup to push the lead to 75-59, leaving Iowa State unable to recover.

Atwell’s big day from beyond the arc helped the Red Raiders finish 14 of 29 from deep against one of the Big 12’s best defenses.

Conversely, the Cyclones struggled to make shots from anywhere most of the game and finished at 39% overall (23 of 59), including 8 of 24 from 3-point territory. Jefferson and Momcilovic combined to connect on 13 of 28 field-goal attempts.

Iowa State clawed back into the game by cranking up its defense, especially on Anderson, in the second half. The Cyclones forced 10 turnovers in the second half, which led to 12 points the other way. Iowa State scored 17 points off turnovers in all.

Sparked by Atwell’s 15 points, Texas Tech held a comfortable 45-29 lead at halftime. The Red Raiders made five of their final eight 3-pointers after a 3 of 10 start and knocked down 10 of 11 shots from inside the arc with 11 assists on 18 made field goals.

Jefferson and Momcilovic each notched 13 points to help the Cyclones outscore Texas Tech 44-37 in the second half, but the Red Raiders had enough in the tank to hold on for another huge NCAA Tournament resume-boosting triumph.

–Field Level Media

Shakir Mukhamadullin scored the game-winner on a slap shot midway through the third period as the San Jose Sharks defeated the visiting Edmonton Oilers 5-4 on Saturday.

Michael Misa had a goal and an assist, and 12 different players recorded points for the Sharks, who ended a five-game losing streak, their second longest of the season.

Connor McDavid, the NHL’s leading scorer, led Edmonton with three assists, while Evan Bouchard had a goal and two assists.

Macklin Celebrini opened the scoring 8:34 into the first period for San Jose. Oilers goaltender Connor Ingam, who made 28 saves, lost his stick on the previous sequence. He thought the puck had been cleared far enough away from his zone to retrieve it, but the Sharks’ Will Smith retrieved it and sent it over to Celebrini for his team-leading 29th of the season.

Misa and Barclay Goodrow also scored in the first period as the Sharks recorded three goals in the opening 20 minutes for the second straight time against Edmonton this season.

Last time, on Jan. 29th, the Oilers would score four unanswered goals, including an equalizer with 59 seconds left by Bouchard and the winner with 1:06 remaining in overtime by Zach Hyman.

Leon Draisaitl scored off an assist from McDavid on the Oilers’ league-leading power play in the first as Edmonton trailed by two goals heading into the second period.

Bouchard tallied his 17th goal of the season to get Edmonton within one in the second period, scoring off assists from McDavid and Mattias Ekholm.

The goal gave Bouchard 20 points in his last 10 games. The last defenseman to do that for the Oilers was legendary Paul Coffey in 1986.

Trent Frederic evened the game at 3 at 2:54 into the third on a wrister from Matt Savoie, who drove the puck all the way up the ice past Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov before feeding the former Boston Bruin for the easy finish.

Askarov made 20 saves for San Jose.

The teams then traded goals, with San Jose first retaking the lead as Alexander Wennberg scored on a wrister less than three minutes after Frederic’s equalizer, with Jake Walman evening the game again for the Oilers less than two minutes after that.

The scoring frenzy concluded with Mukhamadullin’s winner at the 9:27 mark of the third period, after William Eklund found him at the point for the powerful slap shot.

The Oilers have scored 17 goals in three games since coming back from the Olympics but have now lost two of those contests.

–Field Level Media