No. 18 Texas Tech broke open a close game in the early stages of the second half and rolled past No. 15 Iowa State 72-60 on Tuesday in Lubbock, Texas.

Bryson Williams scored 16 points to lead the Red Raiders (14-4, 4-2 Big 12). His 3-pointer at the 10:41 mark of the second half padded his team's lead to 49-37, and the advantage never dipped below 12 points the rest of the night.

Kevin Obanor added 15 points and led Texas Tech with eight rebounds, and Davion Warren scored 11 points.

Caleb Gill led Iowa State (14-4, 2-4) with 17 points by hitting 6 of 10 field-goal attempts, but he was the only Cyclone who had much success in that department. Iowa State finished the night shooting 36.5 percent (23 of 63) and was particularly cold from outside the 3-point arc, missing 21 of 26 attempts.

Izaiah Brockington contributed 12 points and nine rebounds for the Cyclones.

Texas Tech had its own struggles knocking down shots in the opening 20 minutes on the way to a grinding 26-23 lead. However, the Red Raiders warmed up in the second half, making 50 percent from the floor, led by Obanor's 5-of-6 accuracy on the way to 13 second-half points.

The free-throw line was also a key for both teams after the break, especially when Texas Tech's quickness started to take a toll on Iowa State. The Red Raiders drew 19 second-half fouls and were 21 of 25 from the stripe in the final 20 minutes, compared to just 5 of 7 for the Cyclones.

In the second meeting between the teams in two weeks, shooting was the only major difference. The Cyclones held their own on the backboards (36-36), produced 26 points in the paint to Texas Tech's 30 and topped the Red Raiders in second-chance points, 17-13, and bench points, 27-19.

However, as missed shots piled up, Iowa State fell behind and couldn't mount a run of any sort.

The Red Raiders, who were coming off a road loss at Kansas State on Saturday, played their fourth game in eight days after COVID-19 created a ripple effect on the schedule.

The Cyclones beat Texas Tech 51-47 on Jan. 5 in Ames, Iowa.

--Field Level Media