Cyclones Advance With 84-73 Win Over Nevada

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – No. 16 Iowa State (24-10, 12-6 Big 12) held on to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with an 84-73 victory over Nevada (28-7, 14-4 MWC) Thursday night at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

Iowa State shot 55.6 percent from the field, its fourth-straight above 50 percent shooting effort, and outrebounded its third-straight opponent (38-28) to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 10^th time in its last 12 tries.

Monte' Morris was dynamite, leading the Cyclones in scoring (19), rebounds (8) and assists (8). He now has 42 assists in NCAA Tournament play in his career, the most in school history.

Deonte Burton added 14 points and eight boards in the win.

The Cyclones got a huge lift from their bench, outscoring the Wolf Pack reserves 20-4. Donovan Jackson was 4-for-4 from the field en route to 12 points and Darrell Bowie was 4-of-5 from the floor while scoring eight points.

Iowa State led at the half 40-27. The Cyclones shot 58.6 percent from the field while holding the Wolf Pack to 30.0 percent. Bowie and Jackson came off the bench to give the Cyclones a boost. Both were 3-of-3 from the field and had six points each.

The Wolf Pack quickly cut into the Cyclone lead at the beginning of the second half. Cameron Oliver hit a 3-pointer and another jumper to aid a 10-3 Nevada run to inch closer at 49-44 with 13:43 remaining.

After Nevada trimmed the Cyclone lead to four points (55-51), the Cyclones answered with a key 9-0 run. Burton started the run with a hoop down low, followed by a Matt Thomas 3-pointer and buckets from Jackson and Burton to make it 64-51 ISU with 7:12 remaining.

Again, the Wolf Pack countered. Marcus Marshall buried a deep trey and Jordan Caroline threw down a dunk in part of a 9-2 run to cut the Cyclone lead to 71-66 with under three minutes remaining.

Morris then canned five free throws to push the Cyclone lead back up to double digits (78-68), and the Wolf Pack never threatened the rest of the way.

Players of Note
Monte' Morris led the Cyclones in scoring (19), rebounds (8) and assists (8) to aid the Cyclones to victory. Morris became ISU's all-time NCAA Tournament leader in assists with 42 in his career and he recorded his school-record 100^th career victory along the way.

Matt Thomas scored 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. His two second-half 3-pointers both changed the momentum in the game and stopping potential Wolf Pack runs. He made both of his free throws to increase his consecutive free throws made streak to 28. He now ranks eighth on ISU's season 3-pointers made list with 87.

TOURNAMENT NOTES
*ISU is 19-18 all-time in NCAA tournament play.
*ISU is 13-4 as the higher seed.
*ISU is 12-6 all-time in the round of 64, having won 10 of its last 12 openers.
*ISU is 11-7 against this year's field.
*Monte Morris and Matt Thomas played in their eighth NCAA tournament game, a new school record.
*Morris and Thomas won their fifth NCAA game, tying a school record (Stevie Johnson).
*Morris has 42 career assists in NCAA play, a new school record (35, Jacy Holloway,1995-97).
*Morris is the fourth Cyclone to amass 100+ career points in the tournament (112).
*Thomas ranks second in ISU's tournament history with 17 career three-pointers.
*This was ISU's first meeting with Nevada.
*ISU is 1-3 all-time in Milwaukee, 1-1 at the Bradley Center.
*ISU advances to face Purdue. The all-time series is tied 2-2, with the last meeting coming in the 2007-08 season.

TEAM NOTES
*ISU has won 100 games in a four-year span (2014-17), a new school record.
*ISU is 18-2 when outshooting its opponent from the field.
*ISU is 13-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
*ISU has shot 50 percent or better from the field in seven of its last 10 games, including seven consecutive halves at or over 50 percent.
*ISU is 20-0 this season when leading at halftime, and has won 26 such games in a row.
*ISU is 17-0 when scoring 80 or more points.
*ISU is 9-1 when five or more players score in double figures.
*ISU's plus-10 rebound margin tonight is its highest since Dec. 20 (+15 vs. Mississippi Valley State).
*ISU has outrebounded three consecutive foes, its longest streak since doing so in the first four games of the season.
*ISU has made a three-pointer in 335 consecutive games dating back to the 2007-08 season.
*Morris (557), Mitrou-Long (525) and Burton (502) are the second trio in school history to each score 500+ points in the same season (2014: DeAndre Kane, Melvin Ejim, Georges Niang).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Monte Morris
*Ranks 11th in school history with 1,690 career points, passing Zaid Abdul-Aziz (1,672).
*Played in his 139th career game, a new school record.
*Played in his 100th career win, extending his school record.
*95th career game in double figures (30th of the season).
*84th career game with five or more assists (24th of the season).

Nazareth Mitrou-Long
*Tied for 24th in ISU history with 1,245 career points (Dean Uthoff).
*97 three-pointers this season ranks third in school history.
*62nd career game in double figures (30th of the season).

Deonte Burton
*48 blocked shots this season ranks tied for 10th in school history (Jackson Vroman; Jamie Vanderbeken).
*55th career game in double figures (25th of the season).

Matt Thomas
*87 three-pointers ranks eighth in a single season at ISU.
*60th career game in double figures (23rd of the season).
*Has made 28 consecutive free throws over the last 10 games.

Donovan Jackson
*10th game in double figures.

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Team Stats

Monte Morris

Deonte Burton

Nazareth Mitrou-Long

Matt Thomas

Players Mentioned

Darrell Bowie

Deonte Burton

Donovan Jackson

Nazareth Mitrou-Long

Monte Morris

Georges Niang

Matt Thomas

Players Mentioned

Darrell Bowie

Deonte Burton

Donovan Jackson

Nazareth Mitrou-Long

Monte Morris

Georges Niang

Matt Thomas

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Iowa State University Athletics