Late surges push Baylor past Iowa State

AMES — Iowa State was in control, but something was holding it back.

Seven times, the Cyclones pushed their lead to double figures, but could never take that advantage to the next echelon.

Baylor's patience paid off when two late surges gave it its second win in Hilton Coliseum in as many years. Just three games into conference play, Iowa State is behind the eight ball in the championship race with a home loss now on its record.

'We've got to take care of home and we didn't do it,' said Iowa State coach Steve Prohm. 'The tough thing is we were really in control of the game really for most of the stretches of the game.'

The No. 25 Bears completed their comeback with two double-digit runs in the final 14 minutes to beat No. 14 Iowa State 94-89 with a ramped up offense.

Baylor (12-3, 2-1) shot above 60 percent from the field — and 3-point range — after halftime and Johnathan Motley provided 27 points on 13-of-15 shooting and 13 rebounds off the bench. Taurean Prince (18) and Lester Medford (16) added to the double figure scoring.

'They did a good job of slowing the tempo down and when you've got to guard them for 30 seconds at a time the whole game, they're going to find places to break you down,' said senior Georges Niang, who had 22 points and six rebounds. 'Obviously they broke us down more than we wanted to. We game them second-chance opportunities, which we can't let that happen especially at home.'

Iowa State wasn't at a serious disadvantage numbers wise on the glass — Baylor outrebounded the Cyclones 40-34 — but was unable to extend double-digit leads.

The Cyclones got up 12 in the first half, but went into the break just up four. They pushed the lead to double digits three times in the first six minutes of the second half and took a 58-47 lead on two Jameel McKay free throws. Baylor went on an 11-0 run to knot the game at 58-all just less than two minutes later and took its first lead at 67-66 on a Medford 3-pointer.

'They made a few 3-pointers that went in late in the shot clock,' said Monte Morris, who totaled 21 points, six assists and five rebounds. 'I thought they were well defended and sometimes that's just how the ball goes, but I think it was initially in transition where they hurt us when they went on that run.'

Iowa State took a 73-70 lead with 4:32 to go, but Baylor had one more surge in it. The Bears went on a 10-0 run in 74 seconds while using a triangle-and-two against Niang and Matt Thomas on defense. Niang had one basket and one assist in the final seven minutes.

Abdel Nader had 20 points and eight rebounds while McKay added 13 points and seven rebounds. ISU starters played 180 of 200 minutes and the Cyclones got five points from Hallice Cooke and Deonte Burton combined off the bench.

'It just reminded me a lot of last year when they were here,' Thomas, who finished with eight points and seven rebounds, said. 'They did the same thing last year and ran a triangle-and-two on us for like six or seven minutes which put us in a funk for a few possessions. By the time Monte was hitting those shots late, it was just too late.'

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