AMES (ISU) — A decisive 23-0 second-half run by Iowa State broke open a tight game, as the Cyclones defeated Minnesota State, 90-57 Sunday afternoon in an exhibition game in Hilton Coliseum.
Tyrus McGee led the Cyclones with 16 points and Melvin Ejim chipped in with a double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 boards.
Iowa State shot 50.7 percent from the field, including a 15-of-29 effort from 3-point range. The Cyclones held MSU to 31.4 percent from the field.
Iowa State jumped out to an early 13-2 lead by making five of its first six shots, including a 3-of-3 effort from 3-point range. Tyrus McGee made 4-of-his-first-5 shots from downtown to help the Cyclones take control early.
The Cyclones then went on a 15-0 run to go ahead 39-13 with 5:04 left in the break. Georges Niang came off the bench to record six points, making all three of his field goal attempts, and three assists during the run.
The Mavericks didn’t go away, however, ending the half on a 14-2 run to close the gap to 41-27 at intermission. McGee ended the half with 12 points to lead the Cyclones.
A sluggish start in the early moments of the second half allowed the Mavericks to close to within 44-40, as MSU opened the second half with a 13-3 run.
ISU then answered with its decisive 23-0 run, started by a Percy Gibson conventional 3-point play. Korie Lucious buried a pair of treys and Niang and Naz Long each added a bomb in the run, as the Cyclones moved ahead 67-40 with 10:39 left in the game.
Iowa State had five players score in double figures. Lucious recorded 15 points along with a team-high five assists. He was 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Niang added 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor.
Iowa State opens the regular-season on Friday, playing host to Southern at 7 p.m.