Cyclones Overcome Slow Start, Down Jaguars 88-78

Sunday, December 14

Ames, Iowa

5:00 PM

Iowa State

8-1

Southern

2-8

Team	1	2	F
Southern	35	43	78
Iowa State	42	46	88

Cyclones Overcome Slow Start, Down Jaguars 88-78

12.14.2014 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa - No. 14 Iowa State improved to 8-1 on the season with an 88-78 victory over Southern (2-8), extending its winning-streak to five games behind a balanced offensive attack that saw five Cyclones notch double-digit scoring efforts. Bryce Dejean-Jones and Georges Niang led the way offensively, both tallying 18 points.

Iowa State continued to share the basketball, posting 17 assists on 28 field goals, as Monté Morris dished five dimes to just one turnover. On the boards, Abdel Nader led the Cyclones with a season-high eight rebounds.

How it happened…
The Cyclone offense got off to a slow start, as the Jaguars shot 66.7 percent on 8-of-12 from the field in the opening 9 minutes of action. Iowa State trailed by eight early but cut the deficit to two (23-21) on a pair of baskets from Georges Niang. Southern's Adrian Rodgers was there for the answer, though, hitting on back-to-back three-pointers to extend the lead back to eight with 8:16 to go in the half.

Iowa State found its rhythm on the offensive end late in the first half, as Monté Morris capped off a 7-0 ISU run with a tough runner in the paint, and a one-handed slam from Bryce Dejean-Jones tied the game, 31-31. The Cyclones took their first lead of the game with 3:15 left in the half, when Niang sank a pair of free throws to go up 35-33.

ISU closed the half on another 7-0 run that was highlighted by a Niang basket off a Morris touch-pass and a buzzer-beating tip-in from Abdel Nader to head to the locker rooms with a 42-35 halftime lead. Niang paced the Cyclones in the early going with 15 points, as Dejean-Jones tacked on 11 in the opening stanza.

Iowa State came out firing in the second half, scoring the first 11 points of the half behind two baskets from both Naz long and Dustin Hogue. ISU's 18-0 scoring run built an 18-point lead for the Cardinal and Gold and spanned a total of 5 minutes and 44 seconds, as five different Cyclones scored during the stretch.

The Cyclones dominated the opening 10 minutes of the second period, building a 27-point lead with 11:02 to go in the contest. Three more ISU student-athletes worked their way into double-figures in Morris (15), Long (13) and Hogue (10). The Jaguars fought back to within 10 points, but an exclamation-point dunk from Nader brought the Hilton faithful to their feet one final time with 50 seconds left in the game.

The #cyclONEgameball goes to…
Monté Morris. Morris continued to get teammates involved without giving the ball away, notching five assists to just one turnover. The Flint, Michigan, native brought the crowd back into it on a touch pass to Niang that led to two points. Later in the second half, Morris again showed great court awareness, hitting Hogue on a half-court pass for an easy two.

Morris totaled 15 points in the effort on 5-of-7 from the field and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed five rebounds in the performance.

Next Up
The Cyclones head to Des Moines to take on Drake, Saturday, as part of the Hy-Vee Big 4 Classic at Wells Fargo Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. CT on Mediacom and Cyclones.tv.

Game Notes
*Five Cyclones scored in double figures tonight in Niang (18), Dejean-Jones (18), Morris (15), Long (13) and Hogue (10).
*The Cyclones shot a season-high 87.9% (29-33) from the free-throw line.
*ISU outrebounded Southern by a final tally of 37-28.
*ISU is now 53-4 in Hilton Coliseum in the last four seasons.
*Iowa State has now won 26 consecutive non-conference home games.
*All eight of ISU's victories this season have come by double digits.
*Naz Long has made a three-pointer in 17 consecutive games.
*Monté Morris dished five assists for the sixth time this season.
*Abdel Nader has blocked two shots in three straight games, grabbing a season-high eight rebounds in tonight's game.