Courtesy: cyclones.com
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tyrus McGee scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half to help Iowa State (9-3, 0-0 Big 12) defeat UMKC (4-7, 1-1 Summit League), 76-61 Wednesday night in Kansas City.
The Cyclones were down four points early in the second half until McGee caught fire. The senior made five of his six treys after intermission, tying his career high in 3-pointers and recording his third 20-point game of his career.
Iowa State was 11-of-23 from 3-point range, its sixth double-digit effort from beyond the arc this season. ISU made 8-of-12 from downtown in the second half.
“Tyrus really had it going,” Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg said. “We ran a couple plays for him and found him in the corner two times. He was in one of those zones tonight and he stepped up when we needed him.”
UMKC jumped out to an early 8-2 lead as the Cyclones were sluggish out of the gates. Anthony Booker came off the bench to spark the Cyclones, scoring nine points in a 19-5 ISU run to help the Cyclones take a 21-13 lead with 9:05 left in the first half.
UMKC stayed in the game by hitting its long-range shots. The Kangaroos made 6-of-10 from downtown in the first half, as the Cyclones led at the break, 30-29.
The Kangaroos quickly took a 39-35 lead in the early moments of the second half before the Cyclones regrouped.
ISU then went on a decisive 14-0 run to take control of the game at 49-39 with 11:11 remaining. McGee and Chris Babb both hit 3-pointers in the run.
UMKC never really threatened the rest of the way, as the Cyclones owned their largest lead at 76-59 after a Georges Niang bucket with under two minutes remaining.
Babb finished the game with 12 points, going 5-of-8 from the field. Booker and Korie Lucious posted 11 points each.
Iowa State is back in action on Jan. 1, playing host to Yale.
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