Second-half surge pushes Iowa State past WVU
AMES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa State was playing some of its best defense of the season. Its offense, on the other hand, was uncharacteristically stagnant.
Once the shots started falling, the 14th-ranked Cyclones simply blew past No. 21 West Virginia 79-59 on Saturday. Monte Morris scored 19 points and Iowa State (8-4 Big 12, 18-6) overwhelmed the Mountaineers to sweep the season series.
Abdel Nader added 16 points off the bench for the Cyclones. They remain two games back of league-leading Kansas with six games to play.
“Our biggest problem as of late is defensively and just making effort plays,” Morris said. “We knew if we did that we’d have a good shot at winning.”
Iowa State’s 14-2 run to start the second half provided a cushion after leading by just four points at the break. Morris, who finished a point shy of his career high, led the charge with back-to-back 3s to help the Cyclones to a 50-34 advantage.
Juwan Staten had 16 points for West Virginia (7-5, 19-6), which has lost three of its last four.
Iowa State promised a renewed focus on defense after being lit up for 94 points in a loss at Oklahoma Monday. The Cyclones certainly looked better on that end of the floor against the Mountaineers.
West Virginia didn’t look bad either – for a half, anyway.
The teams combined to force 18 turnovers while committing 22 fouls in a physical first half that finished with Iowa State ahead 36-32. The Cyclones then held the Mountaineers to just two points in the opening 7:03 of the second half, and those 3s from Morris highlighted a torrid shooting stretch that proved to be the difference.
Chase Connor matched a career high with nine points for West Virginia, which shot just 9 of 29 in the second half.
“We don’t have the experience that we need to have,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “We’re young. I never said that because I didn’t want to make excuses but, in fairness to them, we’ve got a very young team.”
Devin Williams, who entered play ranked second on the Mountaineers with 11.4 points per game, played through a sprained right thumb. Williams picked up his third foul early in the second half and finished with four points and nine rebounds.
“That’s a pretty explosive group, and we held them to just (31) percent shooting in the second half,” Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said.
TIP-INS
Iowa State: Jameel McKay started for the third straight game in place of Bryce Dejean-Jones. McKay had 12 points, eight rebounds and five blocks…the Cyclones missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw opportunity three times in a row late in the first half…Iowa State’s Dustin Hogue and Staten drew matching technicals with 18:06 left.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers were just 6 of 12 from the free-throw line and 9 of 28 from 3-point range. They also committed 19 turnovers.