Niang Leads Iowa State to Victory Over Oakland

AMES, Iowa –Georges Niang led five Cyclones in double figure scoring behind a career-high 30 points to pace No. 14 Iowa State (1-0) to a 93-82 win over Oakland (0-1) Friday night in Hilton Coliseum. Bryce Dejean-Jones (20), Dustin Hogue (15), Monte' Morris (14) and Naz Long (10) also posted double-digit scoring efforts, as the Cyclones won their 17th-straight season-opener.

Dejean-Jones recorded a double-double in his Cyclone debut, leading the team with 11 rebounds. He scored 16 of his 20 points in the second stanza. Niang fell rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards.

How it happened…
The first half was tight most of the way. Oakland built an early lead at 10-7, as the Cyclones started out cold by making just 3-of-11 to start the game. A Long trey gave ISU its largest lead of the first half at 30-22 with 7:43 remaining in the opening period.

Oakland kept on fighting, tying the game at 38-38 with a Kahlil Felder bomb at the 2:19 mark of the first half. The Cyclones then picked up the pace in the final minutes, scoring the last seven points of the half behind a pair of transition lay-ins from Sherron Dorsey-Walker and Long to go into the break with a 45-38 advantage.

The Cyclone lead grew to 15 points (65-50) after a Niang trey with 11:05 left in the game. Oakland trimmed the lead to 10 points moments later, but Niang and Long hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the Cyclones back up by 16 points (72-56) at the 8:18 mark of the second period.

ISU's led by 20 points with 3:05 remaining before Hoiberg emptied the bench.

The Cyclones were in the double bonus with over 11 minutes left in the game, shooting 37 free-throws for the contest.

The #cyclONEgameball goes to…
Georges Niang. The preseason All-American had a nice start to his junior season, posting a career-high 30 points (9-17 FG; 10-11 FT) and grabbing nine boards. The versatile post also led the squad in assists with five dimes. Niang is the first Cyclone to score 30 points in a season-opener since Curtis Stinson had 35 vs. Mountain State in 2005.

Next Up
The Cyclones remain at home, playing host to Georgia State Monday night in the second round of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

Game Notes
*ISU is 88-20 all-time in season-openers.
*ISU has won 21-straight games vs. non-conference opponents.
*Niang became the 31st member of Iowa State's 1,000-point club with 30 points tonight. He now has 1,019 points in his career.
*Niang tallied his 12th career 20-point game and first 30-point game.
*Niang is the first Cyclone to score 30 points in a season-opener since Curtis Stinson had 35 points vs. Mountain State on Nov. 20, 2005.
*Dejean-Jones tallied his first career double-double (20 points, 11 rebounds)
*ISU is 48-4 in Hilton Coliseum in the last four seasons.
*ISU is 71-12 in the Hoiberg era when reaching 40 points first.
*Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field: Oakland (51.8 pct.), Iowa State (51.7 pct.)

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Team Stats

Georges Niang

Bryce Dejean-Jones

Dustin Hogue

Monte Morris

Players Mentioned

Bryce Dejean-Jones

Sherron Dorsey-Walker

Dustin Hogue

Dustin Hogue

Nazareth Mitrou-Long

Georges Niang

Georges Niang

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics