Cyclones build big lead on Longhorns, hold off comeback for the win

AMES - It was a game that produced a lot of bullet points for Fred Hoiberg to address. But when it was all said and done, he was most focused on his team's energy surge coming off a loss.

Mo. 16 Iowa State staved off No. 20 Texas to get an 89-86 win on Monday in Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones (15-4, 5-2) led the Longhorns (14-6, 3-4) by as many as 21 points in the second half, but after losing to the previously 0-6 Texas Tech on Saturday, Hoiberg just wanted to get the bad taste out of his mouth.

'Look, I've been miserable for 48 damn hours. I'm going to enjoy this one,” Hoiberg said with a laugh.

Iowa State flew out to a 10-2 lead after starting 5 for 6 from the field, and picked apart Texas' zone defense. The Cyclones finished with 20 assists on 29 baskets and just six turnovers, while junior Georges Niang poured in 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

'Any time you can win a game, I think that's a good thing for us,” Niang said. 'I feel like just seeing the W on the board is something that helps put Texas Tech behind everybody.”

The Cyclones raced out of the gates in the second half too, opening their 21-point lead at 60-39 with 11:36 left. That's when the Longhorns went on an offensive tear.

Texas scored 38 points in the final 7:53 of the game as the Cyclones tried to figure out how to defend from every angle. Guard Javan Felix finished with a game-high 20 points and was 4 for 4 from 3-point range, but it was the inside game that helped the Longhorns claw back in, too.

'It was an absolutely crazy game,” Hoiberg said. 'When we tried to take away the penetration, they kicked it out for a 3. When we stayed hugged up to the 3-point shooter, they got to the rim.”

Iowa State had just enough left in the tank to eek out the three-point win, and that was partly due to the offensive performance of Bryce Dejean-Jones. The senior finished with 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

The Cyclones edged the much-lengthier Texas team 38-32 in points in the paint, but Dejean-Jones said that wasn't necessarily a concerted effort going in.

'We just started seeing what worked and just moved the ball around and kept finding each other,” Dejean-Jones said. 'It just so happened to be on the inside.”