National Basketball Association
Baylor 94, Iowa St. 89
When: 3:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 9, 2016
Where: James H. Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa
Officials:
# John Higgins, # Paul Janssen, # Gerry Pollard
Attendance:
14384
By The Sports Xchange
It appears that Baylor has become immune to any Hilton Coliseum magic.
After the Bears snapped the Iowa State Cyclones' 21-game home winning streak last season, the Bears scrapped and clawed their way back from a double-digit deficit to shock the Cyclones again Saturday with a 94-89 victory in Big 12 action in Ames, Iowa.
Iowa State had won nine straight at home since falling to the Bears on Feb. 25.
"We have some secret sauce at the pregame meal," Baylor coach Scott Drew joked.
Johnathan Motley scored a career-high 27 points and had 13 rebounds and senior forward Taurean Prince added 18 points and 10 boards as Baylor (12-3, 2-1 Big 12) won its third straight against Iowa State, something it hadn't accomplished in program history.
The Bears also earned a 74-73 home win over the Cyclones on Jan. 14.
Motley, a sophomore forward, topped the 20-point plateau for the fourth time this season and logged his second double-double of the campaign for Baylor.
"They just kept feeding me the ball and I kept finishing," Motley said.
Bears senior guard Lester Medford contributed 16 points and 11 assists, and sophomore forward Terry Maston scored 13 points.
Baylor reserves scored 44 points and the team shot 52.3 percent (34 of 65).
Cyclones senior forward Georges Niang had 22 points and eight assists and senior forward Abdel Nader totaled 20 points and eight rebounds as Iowa State (12-3, 1-2) lost its second of three games to open conference play. The Cyclones lost 87-83 to No. 3 Oklahoma on Jan. 2.
Niang logged his 15th consecutive double-digit scoring effort to open the campaign and is the Cyclones' leading scorer, averaging 19.4 points.
"Niang is such a talented player," Drew said. "When he has the ball, good things happen for Iowa State."
The Cyclones shot 47.8 percent (32 of 67) and fell to 8-1 at home this season.
"You've got to take care of home. We didn't do it," Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said. "The tough thing is we were really in control of the game really for most of the stretches of the game."
Iowa State opened with a 20-10 run while Baylor missed 8 of 13 shots and turned the ball over six times through the midway point of the first half.
A 3-pointer at 11:06 of the period gave the Cyclones a 12-point advantage, but the Bears used an 18-8 run to pull within two on Medford's 3-pointer with 4:44 left.
Iowa State answered with a 7-0 run before settling for a 38-34 halftime lead.
"We never let the game get out of reach," Drew said.
Motley's layup 27 seconds into the second half made it a two-point game again, but Niang and Nader scored 12 of the next 16 points to help the Cyclones reclaim a double-digit lead.
An 11-0 run by the Bears, capped by Motley's lay-in, knotted the score at 58 with 11:54 remaining.
Medford's 3-pointer with 8:05 to play gave Baylor its first lead, 67-66, but it was negated by Niang's layup on the ensuing possession.
Motley hit a jumper with 4:12 to go that gave the Bears the lead for good, and they stretched it to as many as eight with 1:08 on the clock.
Iowa State cut its deficit to two in the final minute, but Baylor made its free throws to close out the win.
NOTES: Iowa State is 17-13 all-time against Baylor. ... The Cyclones have won 30 of their last 32 games at Hilton Coliseum. ... Iowa State senior F Georges Niang is one victory shy of tying former Cyclones F Melvin Ejim's record for career victories with the program at 88. ... The Bears improved to 9-8 against ranked opponents since the start of 2014-15 and are 2-12 all-time in Ames, Iowa. ... Baylor senior F Taurean Prince became the 30th 1,000-point scorer in program history on his jumper with 8:32 left in the first half. ... The Bears received 22 votes in the latest Top 25 poll and are ranked No. 25 in this week's USA Today Coaches' Poll. ... Iowa State hosts Texas on Jan. 12 and Baylor hosts Texas Christian on Jan. 13.
Top Game Performances
Baylor |
|
Iowa St. |
Johnathan Motley 27 |
Scoring |
Georges Niang 22 |
Lester Medford 11 |
Assists |
Georges Niang 8 |
Johnathan Motley 13 |
Rebounds |
Abdel Nader 8 |
Al Freeman 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Jameel McKay 5 |
Jake Lindsey 1 |
Steals |
Monte Morris 4 |
Rico Gathers 1 |
Blocks |
Deonte Burton 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Baylor
|
94 |
52.3 |
6-16 |
20-26 |
23 |
38 |
2 |
3 |
14 |
Iowa St.
|
89 |
47.8 |
10-29 |
15-22 |
24 |
34 |
3 |
4 |
9 |