March 29, 2024

Cyclones hold off Boise State to win Puerto Rico Tip-Off

CONWAY, S.C. (AP) — Nick Weiler-Babb flirted with triple-doubles. Donovan Jackson found his lost shooting touch and played with freedom on the wing. And a once-wobbly Iowa State team has found a new dash of confidence, too.

Turns out, a championship run in South Carolina for the relocated Puerto Rico Tip-Off might have changed everything for the Cyclones.

Jackson scored 26 points and Iowa State blew most of a huge lead before holding off Boise State 75-64 in Sunday’s championship game, a big leap after entering the tournament at 0-2.

“It’s a step,” coach Steve Prohm said. “And that’s what I told them in the locker room.”

Sure, it’s just one early season tournament for a program that has been to six straight NCAA Tournaments. But considering where things stood earlier in the week, it’s a welcome sign of growth for a team with a lot of players in new roles.

The Cyclones (3-2) were coming off a 74-56 home loss to Milwaukee on Tuesday for the program’s first loss in a home opener in 20 years. And they arrived facing their first 0-3 start since the 1990-91 season.

Weiler-Babb had 10 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists to earn honors as the most valuable player after seeing more work at the point for this tournament, which was held in Conway due to hurricane damage in Puerto Rico.

That freed up Jackson, who set a tournament scoring record with 76 points, including a huge 3-pointer with 1:17 left after the Broncos had cut a 24-point second-half deficit all the way to four.

Boise State (4-1) trailed 52-28 with 15:23 left but rallied with a flurry of second-half 3-pointers.

Chris Sengfelder scored 20 points for the Broncos, who played most of the way without all-Mountain West Conference guard Chandler Hutchison. He took a hard fall and hit his head on the court at the 16:19 mark, then left with 12:22 left before halftime.