Iowa State holds off Central Michigan 59-52

AMES - Plenty of sparks.

No widespread fire.

Iowa State surged to a 16-point lead early Sunday, allowed Central Michigan to revive, then needed Tyrus McGee's late heroics to secure a rugged 59-52 win before 11,167 fans at Hilton Coliseum.

McGee's steal and dunk with 6:10 left broke a 50-50 tie and spurred a 9-2 run for the Cyclones, who played for the first time in nine days.

“We have those spurts,” said McGee, who scored 11 points on 5 of 6 shooting from the field. “Sometimes we have ups and downs. We've just got to work on those down parts.”

Lulls - on offense, defense or both ends - have cropped up occasionally for ISU, which improved to 8-3.

Case in point: Sunday, a 14-0 run in the first half fueled a 27-11 Cyclones lead.

But the Chippewas (5-6) quickly countered with 10 straight points to pull within four, at 30-26, with 2:44 left before the break.

ISU committed seven turnovers in the final 7:30 of the opening half - and one miscue caused ISU coach Fred Hoiberg to kick at the air in frustration.

When asked about that display of intensity, he answered softly.

“Somebody had to,” said Hoiberg, who tried to verbally draw more energy from his players at various breaks, as well. “I'll say this: thank God for Tyrus. He was the one guy out there that was just fighting through everything. Those plays he made at the end of the game were huge and that's the only reason we won this game - because of the intensity of Tyrus. He was the one guy out there playing through mistakes. When they went on a run he was still talking out there. He brought it. He was the guy that was the heart and soul of that game.”

McGee's game-changing play came at the expense of Central Michigan standout Trey Zeigler, who scored a game-high 19 points off the bench.

Zeigler tried to initiate a drive.

McGee saw it coming.

“I read the scouting report twice (Saturday) night before I went to sleep,” said the slick-shooting McGee, who has also emerged as one the Cyclones' toughest defenders. “Coach Hoiberg said (Zeigler) likes to go baseline and that's the first thing I thought about when he caught that ball. So I just stuck my hand down there and it came right into my hand.”

Royce White - who led ISU with 14 points and eight rebounds - sensed the split-second momentum shift McGee's steal and flush ignited.

The crowd roared its loudest and the Chippewas didn't score another field goal the rest of the game.

“That was a big-time play,” White said. “He had a number of (them).”

Outside of McGee, the Cyclones shot 36 percent from the field.

They held Central Michigan to 38 percent shooting, but had twice as many turnovers (16) as assists (eight).

“When you have tough stretches you've got to have somebody that's going to fight through it,” Hoiberg said. “(Sunday) it was Tyrus.”

TROPHY APPEARANCE: The Pinstripe Bowl trophy is in central Iowa for a limited time. ISU's football team will play Rutgers for that hardware on Dec. 30 in New York City. A bowl representative displayed the trophy at Hilton on Sunday. It can be seen today from noon to 2 p.m. at Cy's Locker Room in Ames and from 2-4 at Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines.

CENT. MICHIGAN (5-6)

McBroom 4-12 0-0 8, Craddock 0-2 0-0 0, Coimbra 3-6 0-0 6, Jackson 2-9 0-0 6, Mbaigoto 0-2 0-0 0, Zeigler 6-14 6-6 19, Myrick 0-0 0-0 0, Keel 2-4 0-0 5, Morris 0-1 0-0 0, Harden 0-0 0-0 0, Saylor 4-5 0-0 8. Totals 21-55 6-6 52.

IOWA ST. (8-3)

Babb 3-12 3-4 11, Allen 0-3 2-2 2, Christopherson 1-3 0-0 3, Gibson 3-4 0-1 6, White 3-6 8-13 14, Palo 0-2 2-3 2, Ejim 2-4 3-4 7, Booker 1-2 0-0 3, McGee 5-6 0-0 11. Totals 18-42 18-27 59.

Halftime_Iowa St. 35-26. 3-Point Goals_Cent. Michigan 4-24 (Jackson 2-9, Zeigler 1-2, Keel 1-3, Mbaigoto 0-1, Craddock 0-2, Coimbra 0-2, McBroom 0-5), Iowa St. 5-16 (Babb 2-8, McGee 1-1, Christopherson 1-2, Booker 1-2, Palo 0-1, Ejim 0-1, Allen 0-1). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Cent. Michigan 27 (Keel, Zeigler 5), Iowa St. 36 (White 8). Assists_Cent. Michigan 9 (Coimbra 3), Iowa St. 8 (Allen 4). Total Fouls_Cent. Michigan 25, Iowa St. 10. A_11,764.