Courtesy: cyclones.com –
AMES, Iowa – Georges Niang’s reverse lay-up with 18 seconds left sealed an Iowa State comeback as the No. 17 Cyclones came from 10 points down to defeat the No. 23 Iowa Hawkeyes 85-82 Friday night at Hilton Coliseum. The win keeps Iowa State undefeated at 8-0. The loss drops the Hawkeyes to 10-2.
After struggling from the charity stripe all game, the Cyclones saw Dustin Hogue make two free throws with 13 seconds left to give Iowa State a 3-point cushion. Iowa got three shots off, but none of them were able to go in and Iowa State left with the victory.
The Cyclones will not be thrilled to leave Ames shooting 23-of-36 from the free throw line on the evening. While it was free throw shooting that nearly put Iowa State in the loss column for the first time all season, it was the free throw shooting that helped seal the victory for Iowa State.
After Niang missed a pair of free throws with Iowa State ahead 81-77, Iowa saw Adam Woodbury make a free throw to push the score to 82-77 with 1:26 remaining in the game. Woodbury fouled out of the game and sent Niang to the line where he redeemed himself with a pair of free throw makes.
After an Iowa turnover, it was Melvin Ejim’s turn to step up to the line and play the clutch role for the Cyclones. Ejim made both of his free throws to reduce the Iowa lead to 82-81. Though Iowa State had time for one last possession, Fred Hoiberg rolled the dice and decided to foul though ISU did not need to. The Iowa State student section stepped up and helped cause Roy Devyn Marble to miss his free throw, which led to Niang’s reverse lay-in to give Iowa State the lead for good.
Monte Morris committed a foul on a driving Mike Gesell, but once again the Iowa State crowd proved too much for him to overcome as Gesell missed both of his free throws. Hogue secured his 16th rebound of the game and went to the line and iced the game with two more free throws. Hogue, who had been shooting 61 percent from the line this season, went 5-of-6 from the charity stripe in the victory.
Discuss it now. Visit our Facebook page to have your say on the turning point of today’s game.
Georges Niang helped steady the Iowa State ship whenever he could. Niang dominated proceedings for the Cyclones with 16 points in the first 20 minutes.
Niang closed out his career night with the defining moment that Iowa State fans will be talking about for years. His reverse lay-up under the hoop gave Iowa State an 83-82 lead that it would not relinquish.
The sophomore finished the game with a career-high 24 points, his second-straight 20-point game after 22 points in the victory over UNI. Niang shot 8-of-15 from the field and was a cool 8-of-10 from the free throw line. He also posted five assists.
