Cyclones Fall to A&M in Big 12 First Round

KANSAS CITY, Mo. ? Cold-shooting Iowa State ended its season with a 60-47 loss to Texas A&M in the first round of the Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship in the Sprint Center Thursday night. Freshman Craig Brackins paced Iowa State with 20 points and a career-high 12 rebounds as the Aggies fought off repeated Cyclone charges in the second half. Iowa State ends the season with a 14-18 record. Texas A&M, which was led by Donald Sloan and Dominque Kirk with 12 points each, is 23-9.

Iowa State repeatedly cut into Texas A&M's second-half lead only to have the Aggies respond with a surge in kind. The Cyclones shot only 27 percent (17-of-62) for the game and struggled at the free-throw line, hitting 6-of-12 charity attempts. ISU could get no closer than three points in the second half.

“The statistics are very telling,” ISU head coach Greg McDermott said. “We turned the ball over few enough times to win. We rebounded well enough against a good rebounding team, and held them to 42 percent shooting, but to win in this game you have to make shots. We missed free throws, the front end of one-and-ones and open three-point looks in the first half. Our margin for error is pretty small and when we don't cash in on those opportunities it makes it very difficult for us to win.”

Brackins reached 20 points for the fifth time this season and his performance was the Palmdale, Calif. native's third double-double of his career. The contest marked the final games for Iowa State seniors Rahshon Clark and Jiri Hubalek, who received a strong round of cheers from Cyclone fans as the duo left the game in its final moments.

“I am going to miss this,” Clark said. “This was my final game as a Cyclone. I'll always be a Cyclone, but I won't be able to step on the floor with these guys again. I am going to miss this whole experience.”

It was a sluggish first half as Texas A&M led 25-17 at the break. Iowa State made just seven-of-33 shots against the Aggies before intermission. Texas A&M outscored ISU 18-6 in the paint in the first half.

Team Stats

Craig Brackins

Bryan Petersen

Wesley Johnson

Diante Garrett

Players Mentioned

Craig Brackins

Craig Brackins

Rahshon Clark

Rahshon Clark

Jiri Hubalek

Jiri Hubalek

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics