Iowa State Falls to Texas, 77-68

AUSTIN, Texas ? Texas' D. J. Augustin's career-high 31 points led to a 77-68 win over Iowa State Saturday afternoon in Austin, Texas. Three Cyclones finished in double figures as ISU got as close as seven points with a minute and half left in the game after being down by 20 points in the first half.

With the loss, the Cyclones fall to 3-7 in Big 12 competition and 12-12 overall. Iowa State is now 0-5 versus rated opponents. Texas improved to 17-7 overall and 7-3 in Big 12 action.

“To their credit, our guys do not quit, but the start of the game couldn't have gone any worse for us,” said ISU head coach Greg McDermott. “We made some mistakes on some screening activities and they got some easy baskets as a result of that. We also had nine turnovers right away. You can't expect to be in the game after so many turnovers.”

Iowa State shot just 36.4 percent in the first half, allowing Texas to pull ahead early. The Cyclone's first field goal didn't come until the 15 minute mark when Mike Taylor hit a 3-pointer. After an 11-0 Longhorn run, Dodie Dunson scored another triple with 11 minutes left to play. Dunson's basket was just the second Cyclone field goal of the period. Together, Texas' Kevin Durant and D. J. Augustin outscored Iowa State 26-23 in the first half. The Cyclones trailed by 19 going into the break, 42-23.

Augustin continued his strong performance in the second half, scoring seven of the Longhorns' first nine points. Iowa State battled back quietly and with 8:05 left in the half, Taylor fired a long 3-pointer to spark the Cyclones and cut the Longhorn lead to 12. With 6:23 left to play, Taylor dished to Wesley Johnson for a dunk to cut the Cyclone deficit to single digits for the first time since the opening minutes of the game.

Durant quieted the Cyclone rally momentarily when he stripped Taylor of the ball and scored a tough lay-in with 4:13 on the clock, increasing the Longhorn lead to 10. Taylor responded with a deep 3-pointer and the Cyclones trailed by seven with 2:00 left in the half. In the closing minutes, Texas was solid on the free-throw line, keeping the game out of reach for Iowa State.

Taylor led the Cyclones scoring with 25 points. Taylor's five 3-pointers increased his consecutive game 3-point streak to 20 games. Jiri Hubalek added 18 points and eight rebounds and Johnson tallied 17 points and eight rebounds for the Cyclones. Walk-on Chris Caesar helped hold Durant to six points in the second half after Rahshon Clark committed his fourth foul early in the period. The Cyclones did out rebound the Longhorns, 34-27.

The Cyclones will face Oklahoma on Feb. 13, at Hilton Coliseum. Game-time is set for 7:00 p.m.

Game Notes:

Mike Taylor scored 20 points in one half for the third time this season.

Mike Taylor has nine games with 20 or more points.

Mike Taylor is now 8th on Iowa State's all-time list for the most 3-pointers in a single season with 63.

Mike Taylor, Wesley Johnson, and Jiri Hubalek scored 43 of the 45 second-half points.

Iowa State has out-rebounded its opponents in 13 of the last 17 games.

Players Mentioned

Rahshon Clark

Rahshon Clark

Rahshon Clark

Dodie Dunson

Jiri Hubalek

Jiri Hubalek

Jiri Hubalek

Wesley Johnson

Wesley Johnson

Mike Taylor

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics