Iowa State Heats Up To Defeat Colorado, 57-41

AMES, Iowa? Iowa State battled back from an eight-point second half deficit and a cold-shooting start to knock off Colorado, 57-41 in Big 12 action Tuesday night in Hilton Coliseum. ISU, now 13-8 overall and 3-3 in Big 12 play, shot 69.6 percent in the second half on 16-of-23 shooting from the floor, outscoring CU 42-19.

"This is about as proud as I've ever been of a team in victory, just the way we stuck with it," ISU head coach Greg McDermott said. "We stood around a lot in the first half, wondering how we were going to play without Wesley. But, our defense was good enough to give us a chance."

Another slow start plagued the Cyclones, as ISU fell down 10-4 while committing four turnovers in the first four minutes. CU dictated the pace early by being patient on offense and forcing the Cyclones into turnovers and poor shots.

ISU evened the game at 15-15 with 4:44 left in the opening period on a Jiri Hubalek lay-in. The Cyclones were in the bonus at the eight-minute mark, chipping away at the free-throw line. ISU's leading scorer, Wesley Johnson, left the game after playing just eight minutes with a sprained ankle and did not return.

The Buffs scored the final seven points of the half behind a pair of baskets from Marcus Hall to go up 22-15 at the break. ISU made just 5-of-23 shots (21.7 pct.) from the floor and committed seven turnovers in the first half. The 15 points in the opening period was the lowest half total for ISU this season and the lowest since scoring 15 in the opening period at Kansas last season.

CU's Richard Roby drilled a trey to push CU out in front 25-17 in the opening minutes of the second half. However, the Cyclones quickly answered with an 11-0 run to take 28-25 lead with 13:35 left in the game. Craig Brackins scored three baskets in the Cyclone flurry.

CU evened the score at 35-35 with a lay-in from Marcus King-Stockton. But ISU countered again with a dunk from Brackins and a key 3-pointer from Diante Garrett to propel ISU back in front, 40-35 with 8:43 remaining.

As the Buffs inched closer at 42-39, ISU's Sean Haluska, who was celebrating his 21st birthday, drilled his second trey of the game followed by a driving shot from Garrett to give ISU a 47-39 lead with 4:04 left in the game. The Cyclones put the game away with a pair of driving lay-ins from Haluska and Bryan Petersen to give ISU a 52-41 lead with 1:33 remaining.

Brackins scored all 10 of his points in the second half and Jiri Hubalek chipped in with 10 points as well to pace the Cyclones. Haluska buried a pair of treys and tallied a career-high nine points in the win. The 41 points ISU allowed is a season low and is the lowest for a Colorado team in the ISU-CU series since Dec. 27, 1959 when ISU won 55-41. The Cyclones got a season-high 27 points from their bench.

ISU travels to Lincoln, Neb., on Saturday to face Nebraska at 3 p.m.

Notes
- ISU's 15 points in the first half is the lowest point total since scoring 15 points in the first half at Kansas last year.
- ISU's 15 points in the first half ties for the sixth lowest total in half for the Cyclones since 1948.
- ISU is 11-0 on the season when outshooting its opponent.
- Cameron Lee scored a career-high six points.
- Bryan Petersen tallied a career-high three steals.
- Sean Haluska made two 3-pointers and the first 3-pointer of the game for ISU with 10:35 in the second half...Haluska started the season going 0-for-26 from beyond the arc, but has made 3-of-his-last-4 shots from downtown...he celebrated his 21st birthday today.
- Haluska tallied a career-high nine points.
- Iowa State's bench scored a season-high 27 points compared to just nine for Colorado's bench.
- Craig Brackins blocked three shots in the game...he now has 27 on the season to tie for fourth with Marcus Fizer on the all-time freshman blocked shots chart.
- Colorado's 41 points is the fewest by a conference opponent since Feb. 12, 1983 when ISU defeated Kansas State 59-40 at Hilton Coliseum.

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Team Stats

Craig Brackins

Jiri Hubalek

Sean Haluska

Cameron Lee

Players Mentioned

Craig Brackins

Craig Brackins

Diante Garrett

Diante Garrett

Sean Haluska

Sean Haluska

Jiri Hubalek

Jiri Hubalek

Wesley Johnson

Wesley Johnson

Cameron Lee

Cameron Lee

Bryan Petersen

Bryan Petersen

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