No. 11 Cyclones Edged by No. 3 Sooners, 87-83

NORMAN, Oklahoma – No. 11 Iowa State could not recover from a late run by No. 3 Oklahoma as the Sooners defeated the Cyclones 87-83 Saturday evening at the Lloyd Noble Center. The loss drops ISU to 11-2 overall on the year, and 0-1 in the Big 12. OU remains undefeated at 12-0 and 1-0 in conference play.

Georges Niang led Iowa State with 29 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field and eight rebounds. He was one of four Cyclones in double figures, being joined by Deonte Burton (season-high 19), Monte Morris (12) and Jameel McKay (10).

How it Happened
The Sooners had the lead early, but the Cyclones exploded for a big run. After being down 8-4, ISU went on a 19-4 run, with Georges Niang leading the way with a variety of methods of scoring. Niang was effective in the pick-and-roll, on the dribble-drive and shooting from deep as he racked up a quick 11-points as ISU got ahead 23-12.

The Sooners were not down big for long, as the play of Ryan Spangler kept OU within reach of Iowa State. Then it was Buddy Hield who brought the Sooners even closer, as he rattled off five points in a row to reduce the Cyclone advantage to 35-31.

Up 41-37 to start the second half, the Cyclones were soon down one as Jordan Woodard buried a 3-pointer from the wing to make it a one-point game. Spangler tied it at 45-45 with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but the Cyclones were back ahead seconds later when Matt Thomas fired his third 3-ball of the game to make it 48-45. The Cyclones started shooting better, as ISU got its field goal percentage above 50 percent via six buckets in seven tries, the one miss being followed with an Iowa State put back.

The Sooners finally made their move and broke the ISU resistance with about five minutes to go. Isiah Cousins drained a pair of 3-pointers as part of an 8-2 Oklahoma run to get the Sooners ahead 81-77. The Cyclones were able to reduce the Oklahoma advantage to two on a trio of occasions, but struggled to get the combo of stop and score needed to either tie it or pull ahead.

Monte Morris got a chance, after his third steal of the game, but his 3-pointer clanged the iron and gave the ball back to the home team. ISU was stuck fouling Heild, one of the top free throw shooters in the country, and the senior delivered a pair from the stripe to give OU a four-point edge with 3.5 seconds to go. ISU tried a full-court pass to get a quick bucket, but the pass was not on target and time ran out on the Cyclones.

Cyclone of Note
Georges Niang. The Cyclone senior was brilliant in all aspects of the game, as he finished with a game-high 29 points. Niang was versatile as always, showing his ability from the inside and the outside and across the game, posting 15 points in the first half and 14 in the second half.

Cyclone Quick Hits
*Iowa State lost for the first time this season when leading at the half. Coming into Saturday, Iowa State was 10-0 when leading after one half of play.
*Georges Niang finished with 29 points, his 93rd career game in double figures.
*Niang now has 1,765 career points, passing Hercle Ivy (1,752) for eighth all-time in Iowa State history.

Up Next
Iowa State returns to Hilton Coliseum Wednesday to host Texas Tech. The game between the Cyclones and Red Raiders will start at 8 p.m. and be shown on ESPNU.

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Team Stats

Georges Niang

Deonte Burton

Monte Morris

Jameel McKay

Players Mentioned

Deonte Burton

Georges Niang

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