March 29, 2024

Cyclones blast past West Virginia

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State played nearly the entire second half without the Big 12’s leading scorer and still rolled past a team that blew it out two weeks ago.

The Cyclones head into March as one of the hottest teams in the country — and they can thank their depth for that.

Georges Niang scored 24 points, DeAndre Kane had 17 and 11 rebounds and No. 15 Iowa State beat West Virginia 83-66 on Wednesday night for its seventh win in eight games.

Naz Long had 15 points on five 3-pointers and Monte Morris had 12 assists without a turnover for the Cyclones (22-5, 10-5 Big 12), who brushed off star Melvin Ejim’s foul trouble with a balanced and potent attack.

Dustin Hogue helped cover for Ejim’s absence inside with 15 points and nine rebounds, including a rare 3 with 3:17 left that put the Cyclones ahead 79-65.

“Overall, when Melvin went out, we just came together and did a great job of not only keeping the lead but extending it,” Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said.

Juwan Staten had 19 points and Eron Harris added 15 to lead West Virginia (15-13, 7-8), which lost its third straight.

West Virginia guard Terry Henderson, who averages 12.1 points, missed his second straight game with an undisclosed illness. Henderson’s absence stung the Mountaineers, who shot 35.8 percent from the field and 5 of 20 from 3-point range. Gary Browne was just 1 of 9 from the field in 28 minutes.

“I’m not making excuses for us. But you take Terry out of the lineup. There’s a guy who shot 40-something percent from 3 last year in Big 12 play,” Huggins said. “The difference in the game was they made shots. We didn’t.”

“We made shots when where (at home). We got them spread,” Huggins said. “They made shots here.”