Cyclones Win Behind Hamilton's Career Night

Saturday, January 3

Ames, Iowa

7:00 PM

Iowa State

10-4

SIUE

4-12

SIU Edwardsville

Iowa State

Cyclones Win Behind Hamilton's Career Night

01.03.2009 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa ?Iowa State shot a season-high 59.3 percent from the field en route to a 91-55 victory over SIU Edwardsville Saturday night in Hilton Coliseum. All 13 Cyclones scored in the victory, led by a career-high 16 points from freshman Justin Hamilton.

ISU, now 10-4 on the season, recorded its largest margin of victory (36 points) since defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 90-46 on Dec. 31, 2002. The 91 points is the most scored in the Greg McDermott era.

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"Besides the start of the game, I was really pleased with the way we played," ISU head coach Greg McDermott said. "All in all, it was a good performance in a game where they chose to take Craig (Brackins) out of it, and we made them pay for that in a lot of ways."

SIUE rushed out to an 8-2 advantage, but the lead was short-lived. The Cyclones countered with a 17-3 run to go ahead 19-11 with 10:36 left in the half. ISU made 9-of-its-first-13 shots from the floor, thanks to Diante Garrett's hot hand. The sophomore made his first four shots to help ISU take control.

ISU used another run, a 7-0 flurry, to take a 14-point lead (31-17) with 5:40 remaining before intermission. Bryan Petersen knocked down a trey and Alex Thompson scored down low to help the Cyclones increase their lead.

The Cyclones went into the break with a 41-25 lead, hitting a torrid 64.0 percent (16-25 FG) from the field. Garrett, Thompson, Petersen and Hamilton combined for 11-of-12 shooting from the floor in the opening period.

The Cyclones kept it rolling, opening the second period with a 13-4 run to forge a commanding 54-29 lead with just under 14 minutes left in the game. Petersen and Staiger nailed 3-pointers and Hamilton scored a couple of baskets in the paint to virtually put the game out of reach.

The lead reached 39 points (68-34) after ISU went on an 8-0 run. Jamie Vanderbeken scored five points and Staiger buried his third trey of the game in the run.

Petersen poured in 13 points in the victory while scoring a perfect line in the box score. Petersen was 3-of-3 from the floor, 3-of-3 from downtown and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Garrett added 12 points and dished out eight assists. Hamilton was 7-of-9 from the field in his career night.

"Justin's development fom the first time I saw him play until now has been remarkable," McDermott said. "He is a young man that has a passion for the game. He soaks up everything you say and his work ethic is remarkable."

ISU is now 10-0 this season when shooting better than its opponent (59.3%-40.4%) and 6-0 when outrebounding its opponent (38-21) this season. The Cyclones also nailed 10-of-20 from behind the arc in the game, led by Petersen and Staiger's three treys.

ISU ends its non-conference slate on Tuesday with a matchup vs. Houston Baptist at 7 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum.