Trending
AMES - No. 18 Iowa State (1-1) downed Southern Mississippi (1-1), 83-57, Friday night in its home opener at Hilton Coliseum.
Tre Singleton led the way, posting a career-high 28 points and blocking three shots to give head coach T.J. Otzelberger his 150th win as the Cyclone leader and ISU’s 43rd-straight non-conference home victory, the fifth-longest streak in the nation.
Singleton, who also had a team-high nine boards and was 10-of-17 from the floor, got help from Ryan Prather Jr., who netted nine points, and Jaquan Johnson, who scored 10 points and led the team in assists (4) and steals (4).
Iowa State had nine blocks, with Taj Manning swatting a career-high four shots and connected on 52.9 percent from the field in the victory.
Iowa State led at the break 46-29 behind a late surge. At the midway point of the first half, the game was tight with the Cyclones clinging to a 23-22 lead.
The Golden Eagles were able to stay close by making 5-of-6 from 3-point range to open the game.
ISU held a slight 35-29 edge until scoring the final 11 points of the opening period for a comfortable 17-point cushion. ISU forced four turnovers in USM’s final five possessions, with Singleton, who had 19 first-half points, tallying seven points in the late rally.
ISU was 17-of-24 from the field in the opening stanza.
The Cyclones increased their lead to 21 points (54-33) with a Blake Buchanan lay-up in the early moments of the second half, but USM answered with seven-straight points to cut the lead to 54-40 with 12:13 remaining.
After an Otzelberger timeout, the Cyclones went on a decisive 15-0 run to put the game out of reach at 69-40 with under nine minutes remaining. Prather Jr. had eight points in the flurry, including a pair of treys.