KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Ronald Ross scored a career-high 28 points, and Texas Tech reached its first Big 12 tournament final with a 69-63 victory over No. 17 Oklahoma on Saturday.

Jarrius Jackson added a career-high 22 points for the fourth-seeded Red Raiders, who led by as many as 11 points in the second half before top-seeded Oklahoma (24-7) made a late run.

Jaison Williams tracked down an offensive rebound and hit a 3-pointer from the corner, pulling the Sooners within 64-61 with 38.5 seconds to go. Oklahoma scored only once more, though, on Terrell Everett’s layup with 7.7 seconds to go, and Texas Tech (20-9) sealed the win by hitting 5-of-8 free throws down the stretch.

The Red Raiders will meet the winner of Saturday’s second semifinal between No. 9 Kansas and No. 10 Oklahoma State.

The Sooners, three-time tournament champions and the regular-season co-champions, were denied their sixth trip to the title game in the conference’s nine-year history.

The Red Raiders drew 27 fouls and shot 24-for-33 from the line, compared to Oklahoma’s 11-for-19. Ross hit 10-of-11 free throws and was perfect until he missed the front end of a two-shot foul in the closing seconds.

Devonne Giles had 11 rebounds, nine on the defensive end, for Texas Tech.

Ross, a former walk-on who played his way into a spot on the All-Big 12 first team by his senior season, was held to 14 points when Oklahoma routed the Red Raiders 74-54 a week ago in the regular-season finale.

But on Saturday, he came up big when Texas Tech needed him most.

The Sooners, who were up 29-26 at the half, took a 41-40 lead when Johnnie Gilbert scored inside with just over 14 minutes remaining.

Ross scored 12 points in a 16-4 run that gave Texas Tech a 56-45 lead with just over 5 minutes left, and Oklahoma never led again.

Everett led the Sooners with 15 points. Kevin Bookout added 12 points and eight rebounds – but had only two points and one rebound after the half.

Lawrence McKenzie had 10 points for Oklahoma, and Taj Gray – the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year – led the Sooners with 11 rebounds. Gray was largely ineffective on offense, though, missing his first seven shots and finishing with eight points on 3-for-11 shooting.

Gray’s struggles mirrored his team’s. The Sooners also started 0-7 and shot just 38 percent for the game.

AP-ES-03-12-05 1705EST