COLUMBIA, Mo. – After nearly pinning his opponent in the championship match, Iowa State heavyweight Matt Gibson earned the 2012 Big 12 Championship heavyweight title Saturday at the Hearnes Center. Gibson defeated Austin Marsden of Oklahoma State in an 8-3 decision for the crown. Missouri won the team title with 77 points. Oklahoma State (73), Oklahoma (60.5) and Iowa State (24) rounded out the team scoring.

Iowa State will take at least Gibson, Ryak Finch (125), Andrew Sorenson (165) and Boaz Beard (184) to the NCAA Championships, March 15-17 in St. Louis, Mo.

Missouri led as a team by four points heading into the final match of the evening, as many Tiger faithful supported Gibson throughout the match. As Gibson earned a three-point near fall in the second period, the crowd continued to cheer for the Vallejo, Calif., native and gave him a slow clap in the final 20 seconds of the match.

Gibson is now 24-8 overall and has received an automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Championships.

At 184 pounds, Boaz Beard lost a tight match to No. 1 seed Mike Larson of Missouri. Beard trailed 4-2 entering the third period and posted a reversal 30 seconds in to knot the score 4-4. The Wichita, Kan., native wasn’t able to pull off the win after an escape by Larson with 1:20 remaining.

Iowa State senior Andrew Sorenson earned a second-place finish after losing a 3-2 decision to Zach Toal of Missouri. Sorenson was in deep three times and has his opponent hopping on one leg, but ultimately could not finish the ensuing scrambles that followed. Sorenson is now 26-2 overall.

Iowa State travels to St. Louis, Mo., for the NCAA Championships March 15-17.

FINAL TEAM SCORES: Missouri, 77; Oklahoma State, 73; Oklahoma, 60.5; Iowa State, 24

Finals Results

125 pounds: Alan Waters (MU) dec. Jarrod Patterson (OU), 7-0

133 pounds: Jordan Oliver (OSU) dec. Nathan McCormick (MU), 10-2

141 pounds: Kendric Maple (OU) dec. Josh Kindig (OSU), 11-5

149 pounds: Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. Kyle Bradley (MU), 8-3

157 pounds: Drake Houdashelt (MU) dec. Matt Lester (OU), 3-1

165 pounds:  Zach Toal (MU) dec. Andrew Sorenson (ISU), 3-2

174 pounds: Chris Perry (OSU) dec. Dorian Henderson (MU), 8-2

184 pounds: Mike Larson (MU) dec. Boaz Beard (ISU), 5-4

197 pounds: Cayle Byers (OSU) dec. Brent Haynes (MU), 5-0

285 pounds: Matt Gibson (ISU) dec. Austin Marsden (OSU), 8-3

IRVING, Texas – Iowa State sophomore forward Royce White has burst onto the national collegiate basketball scene and the Big 12 coaches have taken notice. White, who is ranked in the Big 12’s top-five in both rebounding (9.2) and assists (5.2), was honored as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, announced today by the league office.

White is the only player in the nation to lead his team in scoring (12.9), rebounding (9.2), assists (5.2), steals (1.2) and blocks (1.0). The Minneapolis, Minn., native, has nine double-doubles to rank second in the league and the point-forward registered just the sixth triple-double against league competition in Big 12 history with 10 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists vs. Texas A&M.

White, who was recently named to the Naismith Award Top-30 Watch List, is averaging 6.8 assists in his last nine games. He was a three-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week honoree during the season.

White is the fifth Cyclone in school history to earn conference newcomer of the year honors: Zaid Abdul-Aziz (1966, Big Eight), Bill Cain (1968, Big Eight), Dedric Willoughby (1996, Big Eight) and Jamaal Tinsley (2000, Big 12).

IRVING, Texas – Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg orchestrated the greatest turnaround in Big 12 history in his second season at the helm. The Big 12 coaches recognized the extraordinary efforts of Hoiberg during the 2012 season, selecting him as the Big 12 Co-Coach of the Year, announced today by the league office.

Hoiberg shared the award with Kansas head coach Bill Self, who led the Jayhawks to their eighth-straight Big 12 regular-season title.

“I am humbled to be recognized as the co-coach of the year in a league with outstanding head coaches,” Hoiberg said. “This award is a credit to our players and coaching staff, who worked tirelessly throughout the season to improve each day. I can’t thank them enough for their hard work.”

The Cyclones were predicted to finish eighth in the preseason Big 12 Coaches poll, but Hoiberg and Cyclones earned the No. 3 seed at the Big 12 Championship, tying for third in the Big 12 with a 12-6 record. Iowa State’s 12 wins in league play is the third-best total in school history.

After finishing last in the Big 12 at 3-13 a year ago, Iowa State improved its conference win total by nine (12-6). It is the largest turnaround by any team in all-time Big 12 play. The Cyclones also finished the regular-season with 22 victories, the third-best total in Iowa State history.

The Mayor, who has a 38-25 overall record at ISU, led the Cyclones to a pair home wins over top-10 teams (Kansas, Baylor) for the first time since 1992. He also energized the Iowa State fan-base, as the Cyclones finished second in the league in attendance (13,015), selling out four of their last six home games.

Hoiberg joins former Iowa State head coaches Tim Floyd (1996-Big Eight) and Larry Eustachy (2000, 2001- Big 12) as coach of the year award winners.

IRVING, Texas – Iowa State men’s basketball was well-represented on the Big 12 annual postseason award list, announced today by the conference office. Sophomore Royce White was named to the All-Big 12 First Team, senior Scott Christopherson earned third-team honors, senior Chris Allen was an honorable mention pick along with sophomore Melvin Ejim. White also made the all-rookie team.

White, a 6-8, 270-pound forward from Minneapolis, Minn., is the fifth Cyclone to earn All-Big 12 First-Team accolades by the conference coaches: Dedric Willoughby (1997), Marcus Fizer (2000), Jamaal Tinsley (2001) and Craig Brackins (2009).

White is the only player from a power-six conference to rank in the top-100 nationally in rebounding (44th-9.2) and assists (50th-5.2). Both his season rebounding (284) and assist (160) rank in Iowa State’s single-season top-20.

Christopherson, a native of LaCrosse, Wis., is Iowa State’s career leader in 3-point percentage (44.2 percent). Christopherson is currently the Big 12 leader in both 3-point percentage (45.5 percent) and free-throw percentage (89.5 percent).

A native of Lawrenceville, Ga., Allen ranks sixth in Big 12 3-pointers per game at 2.3. Allen’s 72 3-pointers ranks ninth on Iowa State’s single-season record chart.

Ejim, who hails from Toronto, Ontario, is averaging 9.4 points and 6.7 rebounds. Ejim improved his play dramatically in conference action, averaging 10.9 points and 7.1 rebounds. His conference rebounding average was the sixth-best total in the league.