<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Austin Reaves scored 11 of his 21 points in the closing minutes, helping No. 25 Oklahoma answer Iowa State’s late run and hold on for in a 79-73 victory Wednesday night in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament.</p>
<p>De’Vion Harmon added 18 points and Elijah Harkless had 12 for No. 7 seed Oklahoma (15-9), which had a 19-point lead cut to 75-71 in the closing seconds before Reaves sealed an important win for its NCAA Tournament hopes at the foul line.</p>
<p>The Sooners, who had lost four straight, will play No. 11 Kansas for a spot in the semifinals Thursday night.</p>
<p>Rasir Bolton scored 18 points and Jalen Coleman-Lands had 14 for the No. 10 seed Cyclones (2-22), who entered as the defending champion by virtue of their 2019 title but headed back to Ames with an 18th straight loss to end the season.</p>
<p>The Cyclones, who hadn’t won since beating Jacksonville State on Dec. 20, hung tough until Oklahoma began building a lead out of halftime. The Sooners took advantage of three straight turnovers to begin their charge with Harkless providing a spinning layup in transition and Kur Kuath a reverse ally-oop dunk.</p>
<p>By the time Bolton ended the run, the Sooners’ lead had swelled to 51-34 with 12 minutes to go.</p>
<p>It eventually reached 19 before the Cyclones made a final run in the closing minutes. Bolton and Coleman-Lands did most of the damage, taking advantage of some suddenly sloppy offense by Oklahoma to rip off 11 straight points.</p>
<p>But with their lead trimmed to 58-51, the Sooners turned to Reaves, who first knocked down a step-back jumper before answering Coleman-Lands’ 3-pointer with one of his own. And when Iowa State kept getting baskets in the final seconds, Reaves and Harkless answered with steady leadership and poise at the foul line.</p>
<p>That allowed the Sooners to hang on for their first Big 12 Tournament win since 2016.</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Iowa State limped home after completing arguably the worst season in school history. The Cyclones’ loss total trailed only the 1975-76 team, which went 3-24 — though that team coached by Ken Trickey had a better winning percentage. Along the way, the Cyclones joined the 1936-37 team as the only ones to go winless in conference play.</p>
<p>Oklahoma at one point was ranked in the top 10, but its late-season slide left the Sooners needing at least a win Wednesday night to feel better about their NCAA Tournament hopes. Now, they can nearly locked up a berth with a win over the short-handed Jayhawks, who will be missing David McCormack and Tristan Enaruna due to COVID-19 protocols. </p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>The Sooners play the Jayhawks in the first game of the Thursday night session.</p>
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