Iowa State gets key production from McKay, Cooke in home win

AMES — Iowa State men's basketball coach Steve Prohm was waiting for the game when he could finally start to spell 'T-E-A-M' on the locker room whiteboard.

He finally got the chance to write the 'T' after what he saw from his guys against Kansas State.

'We've got to put the 'E-A-M' by the rest of the year,' Prohm said. 'I thought today everybody pulled for each other and everybody shared the ball.

'And two guys (Jameel McKay and Hallice Cooke) that have been out of games, hell, they played their tails off tonight.'

No. 17 Iowa State proved what it could be when all of its pieces come together in its 80-61 win against Kansas State. The Cyclones (20-9, 9-7) were led by usual suspects Georges Niang and Matt Thomas with 17 and 20 points, respectively, but it was a few of the variable players that proved to be the sparks.

McKay came off the bench and added 14 points with 17 rebounds in 31 minutes while Cooke had 10 points, three rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes. McKay went as far as saying his focus going into the game against the Wildcats (15-14, 4-12) was as good as it has been all year.

'I just came out and wanted to play with energy,' McKay said. 'I've only had two games left in Hilton (Coliseum) and I wanted them to be left on a positive note. I think that was big time for me. I just wanted to win and I need people to know I'm going to give my 100 percent effort every time I'm out on the court. I wanted people to remember me for that.'

Prohm preached in the locker room following the win that the end of February and beginning of March is the time where there can't be any mysteries within a team. Getting spark-like performances from McKay and Cooke off the bench was a step in the right direction, but for Cooke, his stat line was a validation of what he's tried to do all year.

'I had a couple moments where I reflected back on the whole season where I just kept fighting and kept working,' Cooke said. 'My teammates supported me and with my support system at home, it means a lot.'

En route to collecting its 20th win of the season for the fifth-straight year — a school record — Iowa State went through a scoring drought in the first half before a Monte Morris 3-pointer gave the Cyclones a 31-30 halftime lead.

The second half showcased Iowa State's offensive ability with the team shooting 65.4 percent and committing only four turnovers. After being tied 39-39, the Cyclones used a 14-2 run to pull ahead 53-41 midway through the second half and assisted on 21 of 29 baskets. Kansas State shot 40.7 percent for the night and got 22 points and nine rebounds from D.J. Johnson.

Thomas hit three second-half 3s from the left corner — and two in the first half — to power him to his second-career 20-point-plus performance in the ISU run. The junior has made at least three 3-pointers in nine of his last 12 games and knew he wanted to get out running in transition to give the ball handlers an outlet.

'Yeah,' Thomas said. 'That (left) corner was good for me tonight.'

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