Missouri Edges Iowa State, 65-56

COLUMBIA, Mo. ? An under-manned and roster-depleted Iowa State team put on a gritty performance Wednesday night before falling to Missouri, 65-56 in Big 12 Conference action.

The Cyclones were competing with just seven scholarship players and eight total men on their roster, but fought hard against a tough-to-beat Tiger team. MU could never quite put ISU away until a deep three-pointer from Kim English gave the Tigers a 59-53 lead with 1:44 left in the game.

The loss drops ISU to 13-11 overall and 2-7 in Big 12 play.

"I am really proud of our guys," ISU head coach Greg McDermott said. "We competed to win this game. We missed a couple of close baskets when we had the chance to take the lead. Kim English made the big shot and we couldn't guard it any better. They made a play to beat us and we just did not have quite enough in the tank."

A slow start by both teams kept the game close through the first 10 minutes of the contest. ISU got its first field goal at the 13:23 mark from a Marquis Gilstrap drive after missing its first seven shots. However, the Tigers were cold as well, clinging to just a 15-11 lead with 8:57 left in the game thanks to a 6-of-19 start from the field.

The Mizzou lead never got higher than seven points in the opening period, as the Tigers went into the break with a 28-23 advantage. ISU shot 31.0 percent from the floor in the first half, but MU didn't fare much better, tallying a 38.7 percent clip from the floor.

The Cyclones continued to hang around, cutting a seven-point MU lead down to two points (37-35) on a Dominique Buckley 3-pointer with 12:32 left in the game.

The pace quickened soon after. The Cyclones shaved the lead to one point on back-to-back buckets from Chris Colvin and Justin Hamilton to make it 46-45 MU with 9:10 left in the game. Gilstrap then traded a pair of baskets with the Tigers to keep the deficit at one-point (50-49) with 7:37 remaining.

The Cyclones had three chances to take the lead late in the second half, but all three attempts were off the mark. A Brackins jam made it 54-53 in favor of the Tigers, but Laurence Bowers scored on a put-back on the other end to push the Tiger lead to 56-53 with 3:50 left in the game. English's long trey pretty much sealed ISU's fate, as the Tigers made their free-throws down the stretch.

Brackins recorded his ninth double-double and 27th of his career with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Hamilton added 11 boards and Gilstrap chipped in with a team-high 18 points.

ISU shot a season-low 32.8 percent from the floor, but held MU to 39.7 percent.

Next up for the Cyclones is a showdown vs. No. 1 Kansas in Lawrence on Saturday.

Players Mentioned

Dominique Buckley

Dominique Buckley

Chris Colvin

Marquis Gilstrap

Justin Hamilton

Justin Hamilton

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics