Cyclone Rally Falls Short, 80-78

Sunday, December 3

Ames, Iowa

1:00 PM

Iowa State

6-2

Drake

3-2

Team	1	2	F
Drake	40	40	80
Iowa State	33	45	78

12.03.2006 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Iowa State University

AMES, Iowa?Dodie Dunson's 3-point shot at the buzzer was good, but just a fraction of a second too late, as ISU's late rally fell short in an 80-78 loss to Drake Sunday afternoon. ISU mounted a furious comeback, tying the game after falling behind by as much as 16 points in the second half. The loss snapped ISU's 13-game win streak against Drake in Hilton Coliseum.

"Bottom line, Drake is a better team than we are right now," ISU head coach Greg McDermott said. "Defensively, they picked us apart. It is so important you recognize their personnel and what their strenghts are. This was the last type of team we needed to play in terms of our development. With the help of our crowd we got back into the game but all of us will look in the mirror and think what we could have done differently."

Iowa State jumped out to an early 12-5 lead, making 5-of-its-first-6 shots from the field. Things quickly got worse for the Cyclones, however, as turnovers and poor shooting allowed the Bulldogs to go ahead 26-16 with less than eight minutes remaining in the half. ISU was just 1-for-10 from the floor in an 18-2 Drake run. The Bulldogs' Josh Young came off the bench to hit a trio of 3-pointers en route to 11 first-half points, pacing Drake to a 40-33 advantage at the break.

Drake extended its lead to 62-46 with 11:37 remaining in the second half with 11 quick points from Ajay Calvin. The Cyclones had difficulty defending the Bulldogs on the inside and outside. Calvin and Aliou Kieta were dominating down low, while Young and Klayton Korver were bombing away from downtown. Drake finished the game making 8-of-18 from 3-point range.

ISU made a mini-run to cut the lead to 64-54 when Dunson scored eight-straight points for the Cyclones, six on a pair of 3-point bombs. Dunson finished the game with a career-high 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. The Cyclones closed the gap to two points when Rahshon Clark made a trey from the corner with just under four minutes remaining. Wesley Johnson got the Cyclones back within two again on a basket off a slick pass from Corey McIntosh. Drake proceeded to miss its next two front ends of a one-and-one situation to give ISU new life. Dunson tied the game (78-78) on a driving shot with :11 seconds remaining, but Drake's Al Stewart quickly answered with a lay-up with :04 left, which was the difference in the game.

Calvin finished the game with 22 points to lead all players. Wesley Johnson poured in 16 points and grabbed 10 boards for his third double-double of the season.

Iowa State travels to Iowa Friday night (Dec. 8) to face the Hawkeyes at 7 p.m.

Notes

- Jessan Gray started the first game of his career.

- Rahshon Clark hit three 3-pointers...he now has 72 in his career, making him 14^th all-time in school history.

- Drake shot 47 percent from the floor, the most by a Cyclone opponent this season...it is only the second time this season where an ISU opponent shot 40 percent or better.

- Dodie Dunson tallied a career-high 16 points.

- Dunson nailed a career-high four 3-pointers.

- ISU was outshot from the field for just the third time this season.

- Wesley Johnson recorded two blocks...he has tallied a block in seven of eight games this season.

- ISU made 10 treys, its second double-digit 3-pointer effort of the season.

- ISU has made 38 3-pointers in its last four games.