No. 17 Iowa State Falls in OT at Texas, 94-91

AUSTIN, Texas – No. 17 Iowa State was able to come back from 13 points down to force overtime against Texas, but the Cyclones fell short, 94-91, Tuesday night at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. The loss drops ISU to 12-4 overall and 1-3 in Big 12 play. Texas is now 10-6 and 2-2 in the Big 12.

Georges Niang led six Cyclones in double figures with 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field. Abdel Nader recorded a double-double with 10 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.

How it Happened
The two teams played out a competitive first 17 minutes, with neither team building a lead of more than four points. However, the Longhorns roared through to the end of the half with a big finish, going on a 16-2 run to close the first frame, turning a 36-33 ISU lead into a 49-38 Texas advantage. The run included three 3-pointers by the Longhorns, giving them nine for the first half.

ISU got the UT lead down to seven at 51-44 early in the second. However, the momentum was short lived, as Texas was back in its groove again from 3-point range and eventually built up its biggest lead of the game at 59-46. The Cyclones were able to battle back, with Georges Niang and Matt Thomas teaming up for four-straight baskets to bring the Longhorn lead down to six at 65-59. Niang went on a personal 5-0 run to bring the ISU deficit back to six at 75-69, and the Cyclones were able to close the gap to two after buckets from Monté Morris and Abdel Nader.

The comeback was complete at 79-79 when Nader got a put back lay-in, but UT struck back with back-to-back 3-pointers from Isaiah Taylor and Connor Lammert to make it a six-point game again in favor of the Longhorns. ISU promptly responded with a 6-0 run, which Niang capped off with a hook shot to make it 85-85 with 1:01 to play. Taylor scooped in a shot to give UT the lead with 37 seconds to go, but Niang promptly went back down to get his own lay-in to tie it again. Taylor got one more look in regulation, but was unable to convert, forcing an extra five minutes of basketball.

Texas won the tip and were first on the board with a Javan Felix lay-in. The Cyclones struggled to get on the board, needing nearly three minutes to finally get on the board via a Morris lay-in. Fortunately for ISU, UT was only able to manage four points in that stretch. ISU had the Texas lead down to two on a couple of occasions, and caught a break with Demarcus Hollard missing a pair of free throws. At 94-91 UT, Matt Thomas' 3-pointer was tipped by Prince Ibeh, giving ISU one final shot with 3.3 seconds to go, but Niang's trey from the right wing was too long, and UT got the win.

Cyclone Quick Hits
*Jameel McKay recorded 12 points, his 12th game in double figures this season and 28th of his career.
*Abdel Nader snared a career-high 16 rebounds, his previous best was 11 which he accomplished three times, most recently against Virginia Tech on Nov. 27.
*Nader also posted 10 points, giving him his second double-double of the season and fourth of his career.
*Monté Morris recorded 17 points, his 15th game of the season in double figures and 52nd of his career.
*Matt Thomas had 11 points, his seventh games of the season to go above 10 points and 24th of his career.
*Deonte Burton finished with 14 points, his fourth game as a Cyclone in double figures.
*Georges Niang made his 107th career start, tied for 10th in ISU history for Julius Michalik.
*Niang posted 27 points, his 25th-straight game in double figures and 96th of his career. This was his seventh game of 2015-16 over 20 points, and 26th of his career.

Up Next
Iowa State's Big 12 road trip continues Saturday when the Cyclones take on Kansas State. Tip-off at Bramlage Coliseum will be at 3 p.m. on ESPNU.

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Team Stats

Georges Niang

Monte Morris

Deonte Burton

Jameel McKay

Players Mentioned

Deonte Burton

Georges Niang

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