Hilton Magic At Its Finest!

Monday, March 2

Ames, Iowa

8:00 PM

Iowa State

21-8, 11-6

Oklahoma

20-9, 11-6

Team	1	2	F
Oklahoma	37	33	70
Iowa State	18	59	77

03.02.2015 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa – Yes, Hilton Magic is alive and well. In one of its most miraculous comebacks in school history, No. 17 Iowa State (21-8, 11-6 Big 12) bounced back from a 21-point second-half deficit to defeat No. 15 Oklahoma (20-9, 11-6 Big 12), 77-70 Monday night in Hilton Coliseum.

The win was ISU's seventh vs.a ranked opponent on the season, the second-best total in school history, and it capped off ISU's season home mark at 15-1.

When OU's Buddy Hield made the first basket of the second half, the Sooners led 39-18 to take their largest lead at 21 points. Three minutes later OU was still ahead 48-28, but the Cyclones then erupted with a 22-point run to take the lead it would never relinquish.

The 21-point come-from-behind victory, which tied for the largest comeback in school history, was possible in large part by the play of Georges Niang and Monte' Morris. The duo combined for 37 second-half points – 20 by Niang; 17 by Morris- to ignite ISU's comeback. ISU had 59 points after the break, outscoring the Sooners by 26 points (59-33) after intermission.

Niang finished the game with 23 points, while Morris added 19.

How it happened…
The first half was a struggle for the Cyclones. Iowa State shot just 33.3 percent from the field and committed 10 turnovers while falling behind 37-18 at the break. A near-eight minute drought of zero field goals allowed the Sooners to go on an 11-0 run and take a 32-16 lead.

It was the lowest points in a half output by the Cyclones since scoring 17 points in the first half vs. Texas A&M in 2008. Jameel McKay was the lone bright spot in the opening period for the Cyclones with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

OU's lead grew to 21 points and was at 20 (48-28) with 15:06 left in the game before the Cyclones came roaring back with a monster run. ISU rattled off 22-straight points to give the Cyclones a 50-48 lead with 9:28 remaining.

Morris was a key figure in the run, scoring 10 points behind a pair of 3-pointers. Two free-throws by TaShawn Thomas finally stopped the run for the Sooners.

Another run, this time a 7-0 flurry, gave ISU a 59-52 advantage at the 6:43 mark. Niang scored all seven points in the run on two nifty drives and a big trey.

OU cut the lead to three points at 59-56, but ISU answered with six consecutive points to take a comfortable led it maintained throughout the rest of the game. Once again it was Morris and Niang who did the damage.

The #cyclONEgameball goes to…
Monte' Morris. It was hard to single out a player in ISU's miracle tonight, but there is no doubt ISU couldn't have done it without the play of Monte' Morris. Morris scored 10 points in ISU's key 22-point run to get ISU back into the game. Morris ended the game with 19 points, 17 in the second half, on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. He was 3-of-3 from 3-point range and dished out a game-high five dimes.

Next Up
Iowa State travels to TCU on Saturday (March 7). Tipoff is for 7:30 p.m. on ESPNews.

Game Notes
*ISU 21-point second-half comeback tied for the largest come-from-behind victory in school history (21 points vs. Western Illinois on Dec. 5, 1998).
*ISU defeated its seventh ranked opponent of the season, tying for the second-best single-season total in school history.
*ISU owns 16 wins over ranked opponents in the last two seasons.
*ISU is 7-4 vs. ranked opponents this year.
*Jameel McKay has scored in double figures in seven of his last eight games (14 points).
*ISU's 18 points in the first half is the lowest half output since scoring 17 vs. Texas A&M in 2008.
*ISU is 1-6 when trailing at the half.
.*Georges Niang tallied 23 points, his 19th career 20+ game.
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