No. 7 West Virginia Downs Iowa State, 85-72

AMES, Iowa – No. 7 West Virginia (18-4, 6-3 Big 12) defeated Iowa State (13-8, 5-4 Big 12), 85-72 in Big 12 Conference basketball action Tuesday night in Hilton Coliseum.

The Mountaineers broke open a close game with a key 9-0 second-half run en route to their second-straight victory in Hilton Coliseum. WVU made 10-of-21 shots from 3-point range in the win.

After shooting 56.5 percent in the first half, the Cyclones struggled after intermission, hitting just 28.6 percent of their shots.

Matt Thomas led the Cyclones with 19 points, connecting on 6-of-8 shots from the floor and 5-of-6 from 3-point range. Deonte Burton added 11 points and dished out a career-high 10 assists.

Nathan Adrian led the visitors with 23 points.

How it Happened
The first half was frenetic. After spotting the Mountaineers a 21-9 lead, the Cyclones came roaring back to tie the score at 29-29 with 5:08 remaining in the opening period. Thomas, Naz Mitrou-Long and Donovan Jackson all hit threes in the 20-8 ISU run.

WVU responded with three banked-in 3-pointers to go ahead 38-33 and eventually went into the break with a 44-40 lead.

Thomas had 13 first-half points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from 3-point range. Both teams shot above 50 percent from the field in the opening period.

WVU maintained its lead throughout the first 10 minutes of the second half, as both teams' shooting percentage began to dip.

The Mountaineers then put the game out of reach with a 9-0 run to move ahead 70-55 with 5:34 left in the game.

Players of Note
Matt Thomas continued his hot streak by pouring in 19 points. Thomas was 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from downtown. Thomas has made 16-of-22 from 3-point range in his last three games.

Deonte Burton scored 11 points and was ISU's primary facilitator, dishing out a career-high 10 assists. He joins Monte' Morris as Cyclones to hand out 10 or more assists in a game this season.

Cyclone Quick Hits
*Monte' Morris dished out two assists to tie Kirk Hinrich (Kansas) at No. 3 on the Big 12's all-time assist list (668).
*Morris has played in 126 career games to tie for fourth in school history.
*Matt Thomas hit 5-of-6 3-pointers tonight. He is 16-of-22 in his last three games from beyond the arc.
*Deonte Burton handed out a career-high 10 assists.
*ISU has made nine or more 3-pointers in nine-straight games. The Cyclones made 10 tonight.

.Next Up
Iowa State travels to Kansas on Saturday (Feb. 4). Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN.

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Team Stats

Matt Thomas

Donovan Jackson

Deonte Burton

Nazareth Mitrou-Long

Players Mentioned

Deonte Burton

Donovan Jackson

Matt Thomas

Players Mentioned

Deonte Burton

Donovan Jackson

Matt Thomas

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics