No. 18 Iowa State 91, Northern
Iowa 82 (OT): Melvin Ejim scored 22 points - including a pair of
key 3-pointers late in overtime - to lead the Cyclones to a narrow
victory over the Panthers in Des Moines.
Georges Niang added 22 points for Iowa State (7-0), which rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit. DeAndre Kane had 18 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Cyclones, while Dustin Hogue chipped in with 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Northern Iowa (3-4) was paced by Nate Buss' 23 points and Wes Washpun's 18 points and eight assists. Seth Tuttle finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Deon Mitchell added 13.
The Panthers took control of the game in the first half, leading by as many as 15 before settling for a 13-point halftime advantage. The lead was 18 early in the second half when Iowa State exploded for a 23-2 blitz, setting the stage for a back-and-forth final minutes.
Northern Iowa trailed by six with 1:15 to play but closed on a 7-1 run, capped by Tuttle's bank-shot 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds to play. In the overtime, the Cyclones led by just one with 2:35 to play when Ejim's back-to-back 3-pointers put Iowa State comfortably ahead for good.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Iowa State's 29 first-half points were a season low for the Cyclones. … Northern Iowa finished 10-of-19 from the line, while Iowa State was 22-of-33. … The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Panthers in the series.
Northern Iowa | Iowa St. | |
Nate Buss 23 | Scoring | Melvin Ejim 22 |
Wes Washpun 8 | Assists | DeAndre Kane 6 |
Seth Tuttle 10 | Rebounds | Dustin Hogue 14 |
Wes Washpun 4 | Free Throws Made | DeAndre Kane 10 |
Nate Buss 2 | Steals | Georges Niang 4 |
Seth Tuttle 3 | Blocks | Georges Niang 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Northern Iowa | 82 | 47.7 | 10-30 | 10-19 | 18 | 39 | 4 | 4 | 17 |
Iowa St. | 91 | 45.5 | 9-27 | 22-33 | 16 | 43 | 4 | 12 | 12 |