Men's Hoops Downs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

AMES, Iowa (AP) - Marcus Fizer scored 28 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and put an exclamation point on the victory with a thunderous dunk as Iowa State won its Holiday Classic by beating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 86-64 Wednesday night.

Iowa State (10-2) struggled in the first half against the underdog Islanders (5-5), who are fielding a team for the first time since the 1973-74 season, and trailed for the first time since a Dec. 8 victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

But Jamaal Tinsley, benched the final six minutes of the opening half, and Stevie Johnson provided the spark as Iowa State opened the second half with an 18-4 run to finally get control of the game.

The Cyclones pounded the ball to Fizer and Paul Shirley inside after that and won for the seventh straight time.

Shirley scored a season-high 17 points and Johnson added 12, including seven in the early second half-run. Michael Hicks led A&M-Corpus Christi with 19 points and Lee Denmon scored 16.

Fizer's 17 rebounds were a career high, topping the 15 he grabbed against Southern-New Orleans last season.

Iowa State started quickly in the second half after a 34-34 tie at halftime, and Tinsley was right in the middle of it. He fed Martin Rancik for a baseline jumper to start the half, blocked a shot and made a free throw after drawing a foul, passed to Fizer for a dunk and hit Shirley for a basket inside to make it 52-38.

Tinsley finished with seven points, seven assists and two steals.

A&M-Corpus Christi pulled to 58-51 on Toby Thompson's 3-pointer and Damian Kirkaldy free throw with 9:16 to play but got no closer.

Tinsley fed Shirley for a layup and Fizer got a basket inside as the Cyclones quickly regained control. Three minutes later, Fizer stole the ball on the defensive end, drove the length of the court, dribbled behind his back and dunked with such authority that he displaced one of his contact lenses.

Fizer was fouled on the basket and completed the three-point play, which made it 71-57 with 5:23 to play. A&M-Corpus Christi was never a threat after that.

Iowa State played most of the game without starting guard Kantrail Horton, who broke the middle finger on his left hand two minutes into the game. He could be out three to four weeks.

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Players Mentioned

Marcus Fizer

Marcus Fizer

Kantrail Horton

Stevie Johnson

Stevie Johnson

Martin Rancik

Martin Rancik

Paul Shirley

Paul Shirley

Jamaal Tinsley

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Iowa State University Athletics