Iowa State Defeats Alabama, 84-74 at CBE HoF Classic

Monday, November 24

Kansas City, Mo.

8:30 PM

Iowa State

3-0

Alabama (CBE Hall of Fame Classic)

3-1

Team	1	2	F
Alabama	37	37	74
Iowa State	43	41	84

Iowa State Defeats Alabama, 84-74 at CBE HoF Classic

11.24.2014 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: cyclones.com

KANSAS CITY, Mo. –No. 13 Iowa State (3-0) downed Alabama (3-1), 84-74 Monday night at the Sprint Center to move into the championship game of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic tomorrow night.

Georges Niang led the Cyclone attack with 28 points. Naz Long added 15 points and Matt Thomas came off the bench for 13 points. Long and Thomas were instrumental in helping the Cyclones hold off the surging Tide. The duo combined for 23 second-half points – Long with 13; Thomas with 10.

Monte' Morris didn't score in the game, but he dished out a career-high-tying 12 dimes with no turnovers to help the Cyclones hit 58.0 percent from the floor. Dustin Hogue added 17 points in the victory.

How it happened…
Alabama jumped out to an early 17-14 lead behind five 3-pointers to set the pace. Iowa State then went on a 12-4 run to take its first lead of the game at 26-21. A Thomas trey started the run and Niang added four points.

Iowa State extended its lead to 41-28 with 3:18 left before the break on a flurry of 3-pointers. Niang drilled a pair and Hogue knocked down one as the Cyclones mounted their largest deficit of the game.

A 9-2 run by Alabama to close out the half cut the Cyclone lead to 43-37 at intermission.

Rodney Cooper gave the Tide their first lead of the second half (51-50) on a 3-pointer at the 14:25 mark, but Thomas promptly answered with treys on back-to-back possessions to help ISU retake the lead at 56-51.

The lead was short, however, as Alabama moved back ahead 59-58 with 11:17 left in the game. The Tide went into a zone, which seemed to fluster the Cyclones offensively.

Long then came up big, drilling a trey from the corner as he was fouled to convert a four-point play. He then made it eight-straight points on four free throws to push the Cyclones back up 66-59.

The Cyclone lead stayed between 4-7 points for the next four minutes until Cooper hit a trey to close the gap to three points (76-73) with 2:18 left. However, ISU got a pair of free-throws from Niang and two lay-ins from Hogue to give the Cyclones a comfortable 82-73 lead with under a minute left.

The #cyclONEgameball goes to…
Georges Niang. The All-America candidate was his usual self, posting 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. Niang had 18 of his 28 points in the first half. He did it from the inside and out, recording a number of his points from his patented baby hooks and drilling 2-of-4 shots from 3-point range. He fell two points shy of his career high he set in the home-opener vs. Oakland.

Next Up
The Cyclones will face Maryland in the championship game of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic tomorrow night. Tip-off is at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

Game Notes
*Alabama made five 3-pointers before Iowa State made its first with a Matt Thomas trey at the 11:15 mark of the first half.
*Georges Niang now has 1,057 ponts in his career, moving him to No. 28 on ISU's all-time scoring list.
*Niang had 18 first-half points on 7-of-9 shooting.
*Niang has 55 career games scoring in double figures and 13 games with 20+ points.
*Monte' Morris tied a career-high with 12 assists, the third time in his career he's dished out 10 or more dimes.
*Abdel Nader scored his first career basket as a Cyclone with a lay-in with 12:41 left in the first half.
*Matt Thomas made three 3-pointers, his 6th career game with 3+ treys.
*Naz Long has made a 3-pointer in 11-straight games.
*Thomas grabbed a career-high eight rebounds.
*ISU shot a season-high 58.0 percent (28-50 FG) from the field.
*The Cyclones were 17-of-21 at the free-throw line (81.0 percent).