Cyclones Survive Kansas State, 70-65

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State used its survival techniques in the rugged Big 12 Conference tonight. After squandering a 20-point second-half lead, Iowa State (13-6, 5-3 Big 12) made plays down the stretch to come away with a 70-65 win over Kansas State (15-5, 4-4 Big 12) in Hilton Coliseum.

Iowa State held a 20-point lead (46-26) early in the second half, but the Wildcats came all the way back to go ahead 58-57 with less than five minutes remaining.

However, the Cyclones made key plays after KSU took the lead, going on a decisive 8-1 run powered by six points from Monte' Morris.

Morris finished the game with 12 points and four assists.

The Cyclones rode the hot shooting of Matt Thomas, who tallied a career-high 25 points behind a career-best seven 3-pointers. Thomas had 20 of his 25 in the opening period.

ISU shot a blistering 59.3 percent in the opening period, but cooled off in the second half (32.0 percent).

Deonte Burton chipped in with nine points, but led the Cyclones in rebounding (six), steals (three) and blocks (four), registering a career-high in swats.

How it Happened
The first half was all Iowa State. The Cyclones forged a 43-26 halftime lead behind 9-of-15 shooting from 3-point range and a 59.3 percent clip from the floor.

Thomas had 20 first-half points, connecting on 6-of-8 from downtown.

A Thomas 3-pointer to open the second half gave ISU a 20-point lead (46-26), but the Wildcats were not giving up.

KSU trimmed the Cyclone lead to six points (54-48) behind a 10-0 run. Merrill Holden finally ended ISU's near six-minute scoring drought with a dunk to put ISU up 56-48 with 7:51 remaining in the game.

Moments later, a Xavier Snead 3-pointer and a Barry Brown lay-up gave the Wildcats the lead at 58-57 with 4:47 left in the game, evaporating a 20-point second-half deficit.

ISU then battled back, going on an 8-1 run to move back ahead 65-59 with 3:11 remaining. Thomas started the run with a jumper and then Morris hit a pair of buckets and two free throws.

After KSU cut the ISU lead back to two points, Burton scored on a drive with 0:39 seconds left to push the Cyclone advantage to 67-63. Brown then scored on a lay-up on KSU's next possession and Naz Mitrou-Long was fouled on the ensuing in-bound. He calmly sank both free throws with 0:21 seconds left to make it 69-65 ISU.

Down four, with KSU in-bounding underneath its own basket, Burton stole the pass to seal the victory.

Players of Note
Matt Thomas continued his hot streak vs. the Wildcats. The senior poured in a career-high 25 points, the fourth 20-point game of his career, and registered a career high by drilling 7-of-10 shots from downtown. Thomas is averaging 22.5 points, has made 16-of-23 from the field and connected on 12-of-18 from 3-point range in his last two games vs. the Wildcats.

Monte' Morris had 12 points, but his six points in a decisive 8-1 Cyclone run after KSU took the lead in the second half was instrumental. Morris hit a pair of buckets and made two free throws in the run to switch the momentum back to the Cyclones.

Cyclone Quick Hits
*Monte' Morris tallied four assists. He has 663 in his career, two shy of the school record held by Jeff Hornacek (665).
*Matt Thomas recorded his fourth 20-point game of his career with a career-high 25 points.
*Thomas tallied a career-high seven 3-pointers, tying for the ninth-best single game mark in school history.
*Deonte Burton tallied a career-high four blocks.
*ISU's streak of five-straight games with 10+ steals ended tonight. ISU had six steals.
*ISU has made nine or more 3-pointers its last seven games. The Cyclones hit 11 tonight, the eighth time with 10+ treys on the year.
*ISU has won six consecutive games at home over Kansas State.
*ISU is 12-0 this season leading at half and won 18 in a row when having the lead at the break.
*ISU had a season-high eight blocks.
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Next Up
Iowa State travels to Vanderbilt on Saturday (Jan. 28) to compete in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. on ESPN2.

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Team Stats

Matt Thomas

Nazareth Mitrou-Long

Monte Morris

Deonte Burton

Players Mentioned

Deonte Burton

Merrill Holden

Matt Thomas

Players Mentioned

Deonte Burton

Merrill Holden

Matt Thomas

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