Cyclones bounce back with big road win

CINCINNATI — Seventy-two hours, same score, different outcome.

With seconds left in last Saturday's game, down by one against unranked UNI, Monte Morris passed the ball to Georges Niang. Niang tripped, UNI grabbed the ball, and the Cyclones lost 81-79.

With seconds left in Tuesday night's game, down by one against No. 22 Cincinnati, Morris fed the ball to Niang again.

This time, Niang stayed on his feet, read the zone and kicked the ball out to Abdel Nader, who sunk an open three-pointer to put the ninth-ranked Cyclones up 81-79.

No. 21 Cincinnati (10-3) got the ball back with time for three shots — a 3-pointer, jumper and another 3-pointer at the buzzer — but all fell short as the Cyclones (10-1) held on for a much-needed road victory.

'It was a must-win game,' Nader said. 'We were kind of ticked off that people had us as five-point underdogs to start with. Everybody was trying to bash us for losing to UNI this past Saturday, and all that stuff added up. We wanted to show everybody that it doesn't matter if we were on the road or at home.'

Against a Cincinnati team known for its defense, five Iowa State players — Niang, Morris, Matt Thomas, Deonte Burton and Nader — scored in double digits. Niang was the Cyclones' leading scorer and rebounder, finishing with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

From the start of the game, the Cyclones' focus was clear. They came out fast and relentless, forced three turnovers in the game's first three minutes and jumped to a 14-2 lead. Georges Niang scored nine points in the game's first four minutes, drawing a chorus of boos from the sellout home crowd.

Even though Cincinnati pulled within five midway through the first half, Iowa State held onto the momentum by taking advantage of free throw chances (10-of-11 before halftime) and fast-break points (10-0 advantage). The Cyclones widened their first-half lead to as much as 13 before going into the locker room up 45-38.

The 45 first-half points, led by Niang (14 first-half points) and Morris (11 first-half points), were the most Cincinnati had allowed to any team before halftime this season.

'I want to play the fast tempo in transition — I just think it's in these guys' DNA, and that's how I like to play, and I thought we did that,' Prohm said. 'I thought Monte Morris was absolutely phenomenal and the pace was what we wanted.'

But after halftime, the tempo shifted and the Cyclones' fast-break game disappeared. Iowa State made just 2 of 10 field goals during one second-half dry spell, and managed just two fast-break points in the second half.

Meanwhile, the Bearcats found an offensive rhythm, pulling within three points multiple times. With Iowa State's 13-point lead a distant memory, Cincinnati took its first lead of the game, 71-70, with 4:22 left.

'On defense, we were shrinking in and they were doing a good job of making outside jump shots,' Niang said. 'With their defense, their matchup zone really threw us out of whack for a little bit, but I really think their toughness just came into play and they out-toughed us for a while in the second half.'

Down by three points, Niang hit a 3-pointer with 1:21 left to tie the game at 78 and set the scene for the dramatic finish.

'We've got a lot of grit in this team,' coach Steve Prohm said. 'We came in a situation where we were going to be tested tonight. I told the guys — they probably thought I was a little crazy — the best part of the game was getting down with three minutes to go and seeing if there was a way we could still win the game. I just thought our focus tonight was on a whole other level.'