Iowa State Beats Baylor, 71-58

AMES, Iowa?Mike Taylor recorded 21 points, his eighth 20-plus game of the season, and Iowa State shot a Big 12-best 48.9 percent from the field, as the Cyclones ended their five-game losing streak with a 71-58 victory over Baylor Saturday in Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State has never lost to Baylor in Ames, owning a 7-0 mark.

"I really thought the start of this game was going to be critical for us," ISU head coach Greg McDermott said. "We were able to come out and take a nine- to seven-point lead after falling behind early. Our guys made the right read and the right passes, and it paid off. We didn't settle and we worked for a better shot."

A quick start by Baylor opened up an early 7-2 lead, but Iowa State promptly grabbed the lead thanks to a 13-3 run to give the Cyclones a 15-10 advantage with 11:53 left in the first half. Mike Taylor and Wesley Johnson each had a pair of baskets to pace ISU in the run.

ISU increased its lead to 23-12 when Chris Ceaser and Johnson hit a pair of treys on back-to-back possessions. It was Ceaser's first career 3-pointer. Baylor fought right back, scoring eight-straight points on two bombs from Curtis Jerrells, who scored 14 of his team-high 16 points in the opening period. ISU owned a 33-26 lead at the half.

ISU came out on fire in the second half, scoring points on its first six possessions to take a 45-32 lead with 15:56 left in the game. Taylor gave ISU its largest lead (52-36) at the 12:01 mark with his second trey of the game. Taylor has now made a 3-pointer in 18-straight games, the second-longest streak in school history. Baylor cut the lead down to seven points, but excellent free-throw shooting by the Cyclones down the stretch helped ISU hang on. The Cyclones made 19-of-22 shots (86.4 percent) from the charity stripe, their second-best effort of the season.

Wesley Johnson tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds to record his 11^th double-double of the season, breaking the ISU freshmen record for double-doubles formerly held by Dean Uthoff (10, 1976-77). Johnson now has 197 boards on the season, moving past Julius Michalik to rank fifth on ISU's rookie rebounding charts.

"Nothing fazes him," McDermott said about Johnson. "It amazes me that he continues to rebound the basketball that well. He has phenomenal timing and great hands. It is remarkable what he has done and it is because of the hard work he puts in every day."

Iowa State did a tremendous job on the defensive end, holding the Bears to a 33.9 percentage from the floor. Baylor's Aaron Bruce, who came into the game averaging 12.2 ppg, was held scoreless, going 0-for-7 from the field. Rahshon Clark and Ceaser traded off defending Bruce.

"Rahshon did a great job guarding Bruce," McDermott added. "Bruce started out sluggish and Clark did a good job holding him to zero points. That is quite an accomplishment, because Bruce is fantastic player."

ISU plays host to Missouri on Tuesday (Feb. 6). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

Game Notes

- Baylor is now 0-7 in games played in Hilton Coliseum.

- Chris Ceaser hit his first career 3-pointer and tallied career-highs in minutes (14), points (3) and steals (1).

- Wesley Johnson recorded his 11^th double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds...Johnson's 11 double-doubles is the most-ever by a Cyclone rookie, surpassing the old mark set by Dean Uthoff.

- Wesley Johnson has made 10 of his 21 season 3-pointers in the last six games, including five treys in the last two games.

- Wesley Johnson's 21 treys on the season ranks fifth on ISU's freshman 3-pointers made list.

- Wesley Johnson tallied 10 boards, moving him past Julius Michalik to No. 5 on ISU's freshman rebounding list (197).

- Mike Taylor increased his consecutive games with a 3-pointer streak to 18 by hitting two treys tonight...it is the second-longest streak in school history (Dedric Willoughby, 21, 1996-97...Taylor has hit a 3-pointer in 21 of 22 games this season.

- ISU led at the half for the fourth time in eight Big 12 games...ISU is 1-3 in those games.

- Mike Taylor recorded a career-high eight assists.

- Jiri Hubalek tied a career-high with 19 points.

- Taylor led ISU in scoring for the 13^th time this season and notched his eighth 20-point game of the season with 21 points.

- ISU outrebounded Baylor, 34-30, its 12^th time in the last 15 games where ISU outrebounded its opponent.

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Team Stats

Mike Taylor

Jiri Hubalek

Wesley Johnson

Corey McIntosh

Players Mentioned

Chris Ceaser

Chris Ceaser

Rahshon Clark

Rahshon Clark

Rahshon Clark

Jiri Hubalek

Jiri Hubalek

Jiri Hubalek

Wesley Johnson

Wesley Johnson

Mike Taylor

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