Clark's 3-Pointer Lifts ISU Past EA Sports

Friday, November 3

Ames, Iowa

7:00 PM

Iowa State

EA Sports (Exhibition)

Clark's 3-Pointer Lifts ISU Past EA Sports

11.03.2006 | Men's Basketball

By: Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa?Iowa State's Rahshon Clark nailed a 3-pointer with :15 seconds left in regulation to pace the Cyclones to a 58-57 victory over EA Sports in exhibition action Friday night at Hilton Coliseum. Clark's 3-pointer gave ISU head coach Greg McDermott a victory in his ISU coaching debut. The Cyclones are now 37-3 all-time in exhibition games.

"Wesley had the ball and penetrated and I just found an opening," Clark said. "The time was running down and I knew the shot was good as soon as it left my fingers."

Both teams started out cold from the floor, as the Cyclones made just one of their first nine shots while the visitors connected on two of their first nine attempts from the field. Wesley Johnson ended ISU's early scoring drought with a 3-pointer at the 16:34 mark.

Iowa State forged ahead late in the first half thanks to a 12-0 run to go up 26-19. The run was aided by tough defense and hot shooting, as the Cyclones forced five turnovers and freshman Dodie Dunson hit a pair of treys in that span. ISU ended the half with a 29-23 lead behind a last-second layup by Cory Johnson off a nifty feed from Wesley Johnson.

The opening minutes of the second half saw both teams heat up dramatically. ISU made 4-of-its-first-6 shots from the floor in the second stanza, while EA Sports connected on its first four shots from the field, all from beyond the arc. Abdul Mills drilled three treys, as EA Sports went ahead 39-38 with 13:05 remaining in the game.

The game see-sawed back and forth until the 4-minute mark with the game tied at 50-50, as Jiri Hubalek scored eight-straight points to help the Cyclones remain close. EA Sports' Geoff Husted made two free-throws to give the visitors a 54-52 lead with 1:05 remaining in the game. ISU quickly answered on its next possession with a Corey McIntosh 3-pointer, his first basket of the game, to push ISU out in front 55-54. However, Troy Devries trumped McIntosh with a trey of his own on the next possession to help EA Sports go out in front 57-55 and setting up Clark's end-of-the-game heroics.

"It couldn't have happened any better for us to play a team that played with a little bit of discipline," McDermott said. "It's good for this team to win. We've been working hard and we've been making a lot of mistakes. It was good to see that we could play through a little adversity. It tells me a little bit about who we are."

Clark ended the game with 11 points and team-high nine boards. Dunson and Hubalek finished the game with 14 points each and Wesley Johnson had 10 points and eight boards in his debut. ISU shot just 38.6 percent from the field, but forced 18 turnovers to help the winning cause.

EA Sports' Devries led all scorers with 20 points, making 6-of-9 from 3-point range.

Iowa State will conclude exhibition play when it hosts Wayne State on Monday at 7 p.m. The Cyclones open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 10, against UC Riverside in the first game of the American Family BTI Insurance Cyclone Challenge.