McKay Inspires No. 7 Iowa State to 106-64 Win

AMES, Iowa – Jameel McKay had one of the best games of his Iowa State career to lead the No. 7 Cyclones to a 106-64 win over Chicago State Monday night at Hilton Coliseum. The win improved ISU to 2-0 on the season, while CSU is now 0-1.

McKay finished the game with a career-high 25 points, his previous best being 21 against Baylor last season, and 11 rebounds for his sixth career double-double. He was one of six Cyclones in double figures, joined by Abdel Nader (17), Monté Morris (14), Nazareth Mitrou-Long (14), Georges Niang (11) and Hallice Cooke (10).

How it Happened
Chicago State was actually first on the board, and were up 4-0 before ISU finally got on the board two minutes in on a Georges Niang bucket. That started an 8-0 Cyclone run in less than a minute, capped by a slam from Jameel McKay to make it 8-4. While ISU struggled to establish its outside shot, McKay kept busy down low, picking up 12 points and six rebounds in the first six minutes. ISU finally broke the ice from deep via Monte Morris at the 12:26 mark to get ahead 23-17.

The Cyclones struggled to put away the Cougars for most of the first half, building a lead up to nine at one point, but the Cougars hung tough and reduced the ISU lead to four at 29-25. It was the return of McKay from the bench that sparked the ISU offense, as the Cyclones went on an 8-0 run via four more points from the Iowa State big to get its largest lead to that point at 37-25. The senior capped the first 20 minutes with 18 points and nine rebounds as Iowa State went into the locker room with a 49-35 lead.

Iowa State cemented its hold on the game early in the second half, with Abdel Nader scoring the first eight points of a 13-0 run that saw ISU open up a 27-point lead at 62-35. CSU held tough, but the Cyclone offense continued to pile it on from both inside and out as ISU racked up a lead of as big as 47 points. The sizable lead allowed Iowa State to get some younger guys playing time, with Jordan Ashton, Simeon Carter, Brady Ernst and Stuart Nezlek all making their ISU debuts later on.

Cyclones of Note
Jameel McKay had one of the best games of his Iowa State career, posting a career-high 25 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the field, which included 10 dunks. He also got his sixth career double-double with 11 rebounds, and two blocked shots.

Abdel Nader continues to impress for Iowa State since his promotion to the starting lineup. The senior finished with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting. He also snared nine rebounds.

Nazareth Mitrou-Long was strong again, finishing with 14 points and four assists.

Georges Niang was a distributor-first on Monday night, tying a career-high with eight assists. He filled up the stat sheet, posting 11 points, four rebounds and a steal, too.

Monté Morris had an uncharacteristically high three turnovers, but still finished with 14 points, eight assists, four steals, three rebounds and two blocks.

Matt Thomas recorded a career-best 11 rebounds, just missing out on a double-double with nine points.

Cyclone Quick Hits
*Iowa State has now hit a 3-pointer in 268 consecutive games.
*The Cyclones scored at least 100 in a home opener for the eighth time in school history. The last time ISU surpassed the century mark in a game was Nov. 25, 2013 against Kansas City (110).
*Jameel McKay recorded a career-best 25 points, his previous best was 21 against Baylor in Hilton Coliseum on Feb. 25, 2015.
*McKay recorded his sixth career double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
*Georges Niang finished the game with eight assists, moving up to 12th in school history with 314 career dimes.

Up Next
Iowa State returns to Hilton Coliseum next Monday to take on Chattanooga. Tip between the Cyclones and the Mocs will be at 7 p.m. on Cyclones.TV Powered by Mediacom.

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Team Stats

Jameel McKay

Abdel Nader

Monte Morris

Nazareth Mitrou-Long

Players Mentioned

Simeon Carter

Hallice Cooke

Brady Ernst

Nazareth Mitrou-Long

Georges Niang

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics