ISU Wins Fifth-Straight, Downs No. 9 Baylor, 72-69

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State (19-9, 11-5 Big 12) held on to defeat No. 9 Baylor (23-6, 10-6), 72-69 Saturday afternoon in Hilton Coliseum.

The Cyclones led by eight points with under :30 seconds left, but the Bears hit a pair of 3-pointers to give the home team a scare. The victory was ISU's fifth in a row, marking the first five-game conference winning streak for the Cyclones since 2005.

The Cyclones were outrebounded by the bigger Bears (37-17), but countered the disadvantage on the boards by committing only five turnovers. ISU shot a sizzling 58 percent from the field and made its first 11 shots at the free throw line.

Deonte Burton led the Cyclones with 22 points, including 15 in the first half. His huge 3-pointer with 1:12 left in the game gave ISU a 65-61 lead. Monte' Morris added 17 points and dished out seven assists without a turnover.

Solomon Young added 11 points and Donovan Jackson came off the bench to net eight points.

How it Happened
The first half went back and forth with nine ties and seven lead changes, as both teams shot above 50 percent from the field. ISU's largest lead was four points and BU's was three.

ISU hit 58 percent of its shots in the first period led by Burton's 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Johnathon Motley had 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting to lead the Bears.

BU scored the first six points of the second half to move ahead 42-36, but ISU answered with six in a row, including a pair of hoops from Morris to knot the game at 42-42.

BU led 48-46 until ISU went on a 7-0 run capped off by a Jackson 3-pointer to push the Cyclones out in front, 53-48 with 8:06 remaining.

Burton gave the Cyclones a 62-56 lead with 2:44 left, but BU followed with Al Freeman's fourth trey and a dunk by Motley to cut the deficit to a point (62-61) with 1:44 left in the game. However, Burton answered with a huge trey and forced a BU turnover on its next possession.

Young and Naz Mitrou-Long drained a pair of free throws each to extend the Cyclone lead to 69-61 with under 0:40 seconds left.

ISU led 71-63 after Morris hit a pair of free-throws, but the Bears would not go away, draining back-to-back treys to trim the deficit to 71-69 with 0:04 seconds left. Morris then made one of two free-throws to give the Bears one last chance, but their last-second shot was off the mark.

Players of Note
Deonte Burton scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half. He was 10-of-17 from the field and tallied three blocked shots to give him 41 on the season. He is now just the second player in school history to record over 40 blocks and 40 steals in a season, joining Lafester Rhodes (1987-88).

Monte' Morris scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half to help ISU down the ninth-rated Bears. Morris had seven assists and zero turnovers. It was his 10^th game of the season where he had 5+ assists and no miscues.

Cyclone Quick Hits
*ISU has won five-straight Big 12 games for the first time since 2005 (7-straight).
*ISU has won four of its last six games vs. top-10 opponents in Hilton Coliseum.
*Morris had seven assists, his seventh-straight game with five or more dimes.
*Morris registered his 10^th game of the season with five or more assists and zero turnovers.
*Morris has 52 assists and 4 turnovers in his last seven games.
*Deonte Burton become the second player in school history with 40+ blocks (41) and 40+ steals (51) in a season joining Lafester Rhodes (1987-88).
*Monte' Morris started his 114^th career game to extend his school record.
*Naz Mitrou-Long was 2-of-6 from 3-point range today. He is 30-of-61 from beyond the arc in his seven games.
*Mitrou-Long was 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. He has made 16-straight free throws.
*Mitrou-Long is now 20-of-38 from 3-point range vs. Baylor (52.6 percent) in his career.
*ISU had less turnovers (5) than its opponent (11) for the 23^rd time this season.

Next Up: Iowa State plays host to Oklahoma State (Feb. 28) on Senior Night. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.

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Team Stats

Deonte Burton

Monte Morris

Solomon Young

Nazareth Mitrou-Long

Players Mentioned

Deonte Burton

Donovan Jackson

Solomon Young

Players Mentioned

Deonte Burton

Donovan Jackson

Solomon Young

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics