Thomas Lifts Cyclones To 76-69 Win Over Texas Tech

AMES, Iowa – Matt Thomas scored a career-high 22 points and knocked down big shots to lift No. 13 Iowa State (12-2, 1-1 Big 12) to a 76-69 victory over Texas Tech (11-2, 1-1 Big 12) Wednesday night in Hilton Coliseum.

Thomas tied his career high with six 3-pointers, including three in the second half which staved off Red Raider threats. Thomas had help from Jameel McKay, who posted his fifth double-double of the season with 19 points and 14 boards. He also had a season-high four blocks.

Georges Niang added 14 points, all in the second half.

On a night where ISU struggled from the field (39.7 percent) the Cyclones were able to pull out a victory by committing just 10 turnovers and making 14-of-17 shots (82.4 percent) at the charity stripe.

How it Happened
Iowa State had to alter the way it played from the onset when the All-American Niang picked up his second foul with just over two minutes into the contest.

With Niang on the bench, the Cyclones still managed to mount a 17-9 lead with 12:30 left in the opening period. McKay and Monte' Morris combined for 12 of ISU's first 17 points.

Minutes later, ISU went on an 11-0 run to increase its lead to 31-13 with nine minutes left in the opening period. McKay had six points in the run, including a monster dunk on a steal and breakaway.

TTU battled back with a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to 31-23 as the Cyclones went cold. Thomas ended the run with a nice drive to the hoop to put the Cyclones back up by double digits (33-23) at the 5:04 mark of the opening period.

Niang briefly came back in, but quickly picked up his third foul to find a seat on the bench for the rest of the half.

Thomas had 13 first-half points to help the Cyclones go into the break with a 40-30 lead.

TTU came out firing to open the second half, quickly cutting ISU's lead to 42-39 with 17:34 left in the game. While the Cyclones were mired in a 1-for-9 shooting slump, TTU then narrowed the gap to 49-48 with 11:49 remaining.

ISU then scored five-straight points on a pair of free-throws from Niang and a 3-pointer from Thomas in the corner to help ISU move ahead 54-48. After TTU trimmed the lead back down to two points, ISU got the crowd going with a 7-0 run. Niang scored down low and Thomas hit another corner trey to give ISU a 61-52 advantage with under eight minutes left.

Once again, the Red Raiders wouldn't go away. Toddrick Gotcher opened an 8-1 run to close to within two points at 62-60 with five minutes left.

A key 7-1 run in the final two minutes put the game out of reach. Thomas again had the dagger with a deep 3-pointer, his sixth of the game, from the corner to give ISU a 74-65 advantage with 1:07 remaining.

Cyclone of Note: Matt Thomas. Thomas was the undisputed star of the game. His career-high 22 points and six 3-pointers (tying his career best of six vs. Iowa) were huge. However, it was the timeliness of his three second-half treys which stood tall. His last three ignited the crowd and put the game out of reach with under two minutes left.

Cyclone Quick Hits
*Iowa State is now 70-5 in Hilton Coliseum in the last five years.
*Matt Thomas tallied a career-high 22 points.
*Matt Thomas equaled his career high in 3-pointers with six to give him 111 in his career and move to No. 13 on ISU's all-time list.
*Thomas has three or more treys in six of his last seven games.
*Monte' Morris had six assists, the 46th game of his career with five or more dimes.
*Jameel McKay had four blocks, the third game this season with three or more swats.
*McKay moved into ISU's career top-10 in blocks with 81.
*McKay posted the fifth double-double of the season and the 10th of his career with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Up Next
Iowa State plays host to Baylor on Saturday (Jan. 9). Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN2.

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Team Stats

Matt Thomas

Jameel McKay

Georges Niang

Monte Morris

Players Mentioned

Georges Niang

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