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12.31.2019 | Men's Basketball
AMES, Iowa- Iowa State (7-5, 0-0 Big 12) fell to Florida A&M (2-9, 0-0 MEAC) 70-68 in the final seconds Tuesday night in Hilton Coliseum.
FAMU's Rod Melton buried a jumper with :10 seconds remaining for the game-winner. The clutch shot gave the Rattlers a 69-68 lead after ISU fought back from a six-point deficit with under six minutes left. Melton finished the game with 20 points.
Iowa State led 33-24 at the break, but committed 10 second-half turnovers and allowed the Rattlers to shoot 58.0 percent from the field after intermission.
Playing without its star player Tyrese Haliburton, who sat the game out with a wrist injury, Rasir Bolton took over as the Cyclone leader, tallying a career-high 29 points, including 23 in the second half.
Terrence Lewis got the start in place of Haliburton, the second of his career, scoring 10 points and grabbing a career-high eight rebounds.
How It Happened
Florida A&M raced out to an early 9-5 lead until ISU mounted a 19-2 run to go ahead 24-11. George Conditt IV came off the bench to score seven points in the run.
The Rattlers were able to cut the deficit to 33-24 at the half. Â
The Cyclones were sluggish to open the second stanza. ISU began the half by making just 3-of-10 shots and committing five turnovers in the first six minutes, allowing the Rattlers to tie the score at 40-40 with 13:20 remaining.
FAMU took its first lead (44-42) since the opening moments when Evins Desir scored on a putback at the 12:07 mark. Bolton scored 10-straight points for the Cyclones during a second-half stretch, but FAMU increased its lead to 56-50 with 5:58 left in the game.
A 7-2 run by the Cyclones, which included five points by Bolton, cut the lead to 62-61 with under three minutes remaining. Kamron Reaves then hit a tough trey to give the Rattlers a 67-63 lead with 1:32 left, but Bolton promptly answered with a triple to make it 67-66 at the 1:17 mark.
Conditt IV made a pair of free-throws to give the Cyclones the lead (68-67) with under a minute left, but Melton's jumper made it 69-68 with :10 seconds remaining. ISU had a chance to win it, but turned the ball over on a jump ball.
Players of Note
Rasir Bolton scored 23 of his career-high 29 points in the second half to pace the Cyclones. He also had four rebounds and four assists in the contest. Bolton was 10-of-17 from the field, including a 4-of-4 effort from beyond the arc. Â Â
George Conditt IV came off the bench to score 12 points and grab six rebounds. He also had a blocked shot to give him 61 in his career, tying him for 18th on ISU's career blocked shots list.
Up Next
Iowa State begins Big 12 action, traveling to TCU on Saturday (Jan. 4) on ESPNU. Â