Naz Long's 15 bench points move No. 15 Iowa State past West Virginia
Iowa State played almost the whole second fifty percent without the Huge 12's leading scorer and still rolled past a group that blew it out 2 weeks back.
The Cyclones going into March as one of the hottest groups in the nation-- and they can thank their depth for that.
Georges Niang racked up 24 points, DeAndre Kane had 17 and 11 rebounds and No. 15 Iowa State beat West Virginia 83-66 on Wednesday evening for its seventh succeed in 8 games.
Naz Long had 15 factors on five 3-pointers and Monte Morris had 12 helps without a turn over for the Cyclones (22-5, 10-5 Big 12), which brushed off superstar Melvin Ejim's nasty problem with a balanced and powerful strike.
Dustin Hogue aided pay for Ejim's absence inside with 15 factors and 9 rebounds, featuring an unusual 3 with 3:17 left that placed the Cyclones ahead 79-65.
"In general, when Melvin headed out, we just mixed and did a fantastic work of not simply keeping the lead however expanding it," Iowa State instructor Fred Hoiberg pointed out.
Juwan Staten had 19 points and Eron Harris included 15 to lead West Virginia (15-13, 7-8), which lost its 3rd straight.
West Virginia guard Terry Henderson, who standards 12.1 factors, missed his 2nd straight game with an undisclosed illness. Henderson's absence hurt the Mountaineers, who fired 35.8 percent from the industry and 5 of 20 from 3-point array. Gary Browne was just 1-of-9 from the area in 28 minutes.
"I'm not making justifications for us. Yet you take Terry out of the schedule. There's a man that fired 40-something percent from 3 last year in Big 12 play," Huggins stated. "The difference in the game was they made shots. We didn't.".
Iowa State looked prepared to pull away from the Mountaineers early in the second half-- and maybe even match the 25-point whipping West Virginia put on the Cyclones two weeks earlier.
It would not prove to be so very easy.
Ejim, a major Large 12 Gamer of the Year prospect, got his 4th foul on a technical with 17:13 left. The Mountaineers quickly capitalized, cutting an 11-point deficit to 53-49.
Yet the Cyclones revealed why they have acquired a lot greater than Ejim to lean on.
Long and Niang responded to with crucial successive Twos, and Long's 5th 3 made it 64-54 with 9:45 left. Kane and Hogue adhered to with tough inside baskets, and Hogue's tip-in offered the Cyclones a 72-61 lead.
Iowa State outscored the Mountaineers 46-24 in the paint even with acquiring just 20 mins from Ejim.
"Dustin Hogue, I give a ton of credit rating for being the person that was doing the dirty work for us," Hoiberg stated. "Our two-man game was working well. We 'd remove a side of the floor, and Dustin was a recipient of a bunch of that since Georges was marching and making shots or driving the ball.".
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Without doubt, the nadir of Iowa State's season came at the hands of West Virginia.
The Mountaineers got on the Cyclones from the opening tip and ran them out of Morgantown. To make issues worse, Harris was expelled late for drilling Morris-- quickly after Hogue kicked West Virginia's Kevin Noreen while opting for a rebound.
Things obtained chippy straightaway in Ames too, with Ejim and Noreen trading very early words. Huggins after that drew a technical for getting after the officials, and consecutive bank tries by Hogue topped a 24-5 run and provided Iowa State a 28-14 lead.
"We made chances when where (in the home). We got them spreading," Huggins said. "They made shots right here.".
Yet the Cyclones are also susceptible to rounds of careless play, and they finished the one-half with a lot of fouls and unadvised shots that allow the Mountaineers close within 39-33.
Iowa State pulled itself with each other in the 2nd fifty percent for its 7th conference win of February-- the most the Cyclones have actually ever had in one month.
"Coach simply says to everyone to just prepare and prepared. One via five, whoever is out there, we trust each other to make gos and make plays," Morris stated.
