Cyclones Score Big Win At Houston, 71-67

Sunday, December 28

Houston, TX

5:00 PM

Iowa State

8-4

Houston

7-2

Iowa State

Houston

Cyclones Score Big Win At Houston, 71-67

12.28.2008 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: cyclones.com

HOUSTON, Texas ?Craig Brackins scored 23 of his career-high 38 points in the second half to rally Iowa State to a 71-67 win over Houston Sunday night at the Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas. Brackins, who also grabbed 14 boards in the win, recorded his third 30-point game of his career while tallying a career-best 15 field goals.

The win, which improves ISU to 8-4 on the season, ended the Cougars seven-game winning streak.

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“Defensively, we did exactly what we set out to do,” ISU head coach Greg McDermott said. “Our big guys did a great job cleaning up the glass and Charles Boozer and Bryan Petersen were great on the defensive end. Our guards did a great job getting touches inside and Craig was efficient with the ball.”

A sluggish start saw the Cyclones fall down 12-6 early, as ISU made just 2-of-11 shots to begin the game. ISU showed resilience by chipping away at the lead behind the play of Brackins. Brackins scored nine of his first-half 15 points in the next 10 minutes to help ISU take a 23-19 lead with 3:40 left in the half.

The Cougars bounced back by scoring eight-straight points, six from Aubrey Coleman, to push UH back out in front 27-23 with a little over a minute left in the opening period. Lucca Staiger allowed the Cyclones to go into halftime down by just one point (27-26) after burying a deep trey in the closing seconds. Brackins tallied a double-double, his fourth in the last seven games, in the first half with 15 points and 11 boards.

ISU shot just 33.3 percent from the field in the opening period, but forced nine Cougar turnovers to stay in the game. UH was leading the nation in fewest turnovers (9.2 tpg) prior to tip.

Brackins continued the onslaught in the second half, scoring nine of ISU's first 15 points to push ISU out in front 41-36 with 14:04 remaining in the game. A Justin Hamilton tip-in made it 43-38 ISU with 12:40 left, but the Cougars followed with a 7-0 run to take a 45-43 lead. ISU fought right back with an 8-2 run behind a monster dunk by Brackins and two treys from Staiger and Brackins to propel ISU to a 51-47 lead with just under nine minutes remaining.

ISU maintained a 61-57 lead with 3:32 left in the game, as both teams traded baskets during a six-minute stretch. A pair of Coleman free-throws cut the gap to 64-62 with 3:00 minutes left, but ISU scored on back-to-back possessions, one on a Garrett drive and the other on a Brackins turnaround, to make it 68-62 ISU with 1:30 remaining.

Hamilton came up with a big blocked shot to stop the Cougars and Brackins made two foul shots to give ISU its biggest lead at 70-62 with 0:25 seconds left. Coleman was then fouled, making two free-throws to cut the lead to six points. ISU then threw the ball away on its next possession and Kelvin Lewis made the Cyclones pay by burying a long 3-pointer to make it a 70-67 game with 0:10 seconds left.

ISU inbounded the ball to Staiger, who was promptly fouled. The sophomore missed the free-throw, giving UH one more shot, but Coleman misfired from downtown and Garrett corralled the rebound and sank one of two free-throws to seal the victory.

Hamilton, who got his first start of his career, responded with a career-high 12 rebounds and eight points. Garrett added 12 points and five assists in the win. The Cyclones shot 56.7 percent from the field in the second half to tally a 44.4 percent outing for the game. ISU is 8-0 when shooting better than its opponent this season.

Brackins' 38 points was the best scoring output by a Big 12 player this season and the most points scored by a Cyclone since Marcus Fizer recorded 38 points vs. Baylor in 2000. It also ties for the 10th-best single-game scoring effort in ISU history.

The Cyclones will play host to Mercer on Wednesday (Dec. 31). Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.