Iowa State Grinds Out 72-63 Win Over Northern Illinois

Monday, January 3

Ames, Iowa

7:00 PM

Iowa State

13-2

Northern Illinois

4-8

Northern Illinois

Iowa State

Iowa State Grinds Out 72-63 Win Over Northern Illinois

01.03.2011 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: cyclones.com

STATS | NOTES | HIGHLIGHTS | MEDIA CONFERENCE

AMES, Iowa - The Iowa State Cyclones won their seventh-straight game Monday night, 72-63, over the Huskies of Northern Illinois. Guard Diante Garrett paced the Cyclones (13-2) with 22 points while freshman Melvin Ejim posted his third double-double of the year, collecting 11 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

Playing against his former team for the first time, guard Jake Anderson scored 16 points for Iowa State on 6-of-12 shooting and Jamie Vanderbeken added 11 points. The game marks the ninth time this season in which four Cyclones have scored in double-digits.

The Huskies (4-8) stayed close throughout the game, tying the contest at 44 with 11:18 left on the clock and trailed 65-60 with three and a half minutes remaining in regulation. However, Ejim and Calvin Godfrey combined for four free throws in a 90 second span to put the Cyclones up for good.

Both teams suffered from poor shooting in from the beginning. The Cyclones shot 25 percent on 10-of-40 shooting in the first half and the Huskies fared on slightly better at 30.6 percent (11-of-36). Both teams improved in the second half as Iowa State connected on 54 percent of its shots and the Huskies counting 44 percent of their shots.

Garrett struggled throughout the first 20 minutes to find his shot, going 2-of-14 from the field for seven points. He led the Cyclone scoring at the half.

Northern Illinois' Xavier Silas led all scorers with 11 points at the break. Silas, who was averaging 24.5 points a game entering the night, finished with a Huskie-best 18 points. Tim Toler led the defensive charge for Northern Illinois with 10 rebounds.
Iowa State opens Big 12 play on Saturday at Nebraska. Tip time in Lincoln is set for 7 p.m.