Iowa State Falls to Xavier, 72-59

CINCINNATI (AP) - Justin Doellman scored 21 points and Brian Thornton led a 17-5 run that opened the second half and sent Xavier to a 72-59 victory Monday over Iowa State.

Xavier (6-4) didn't trail after the opening minutes, winning its fourth in a row. The young Musketeers showed signs of maturing while winning three games in the last seven days.

For Iowa State (8-3), it was a familiar script - hit the road and lose. The Cyclones are 0-3 on the road this season, also losing to Iowa and Northern Iowa.

Iowa State had won its last four games with highly accurate shooting, making 52 percent from the field over that span. Against Xavier's pesky defense, the Cyclones never found their touch, hitting only 32.8 percent.

Thornton and Justin Cage added 17 points apiece for Xavier, which also had a 44-31 edge in rebounds. Curtis Stinson led Iowa State with 18 points.

The game started strangely. Iowa State didn't turn in its starting lineup on time, drawing a technical foul. While the players milled on the sideline, Dedrick Finn made one of his two free throws, putting Xavier up a point before the opening tip.

The oversight seemed to set the mood. In the opening 4 minutes and 20 seconds, Xavier went 0-for-3 from the field with four turnovers while Iowa State was 1-for-5 with three turnovers.

Doellman got things rolling by hitting a pair of pullup jumpers and a 3-pointer, starting an 11-2 run and put Xavier ahead to stay 20-10. Doellman, a starter on Xavier's Elite Eight team last season, had struggled before scoring a career-high 22 points against Marshall last Thursday.

Cyclones reserve forward Robert Faulkner got sick and wasn't expected to play, but came off the bench and made a pair of baskets that blunted the run. Anthony Davis, who had a shoulder injury early in the season and didn't make a 3-pointer until the last game, hit a pair of them that cut the lead to 24-23.

Cage had a pair of putbacks that left Xavier up 33-29 at halftime.

Xavier extended its defense the length of the court to open the second half, and Iowa State missed nine of its first 10 shots. Xavier took advantage of the opening, going on an 17-5 run that pushed the lead to 50-34. Thornton had six points and Will Caudle hit a pair of banks shots as Xavier got the ball inside.

Stinson, the Cyclones' leading scorer, picked up his third foul during Xavier's spurt. He returned from a brief benching and scored three close-up baskets that helped trim the lead to 54-45.

Doellman made a 3-pointer and a fastbreak layup that rebuilt the lead to 15. Iowa State made one more run, trimming it to 64-57 on Davis' 3 with 2:23 left. But Cage drove for a layup out of Xavier's spread offense, and Doellman hit a jumper with 50 seconds left to clinch it.

The game amounted to a homecoming for Iowa State coach Wayne Morgan, who was one of Bob Staak's assistants at Xavier from 1979-84. Morgan helped recruit Byron Larkin, who is Xavier's career scoring leader and was doing radio commentary at courtside.

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Team Stats

Curtis Stinson

Anthony Davis

Will Blalock

Jared Homan

Players Mentioned

Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis

Robert Faulkner

Curtis Stinson

Curtis Stinson

Curtis Stinson

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