Cyclones rain in treys in Texas

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas - Chris Babb scored 26 points and Tyrus McGee added 17 as Iowa State defeated Rice, 90-63, last night in the South Padre Island Invitational.

Chris Allen and Christopherson scored 10 points each for the Cyclones, who improved to 5-1. Melvin Ejim had eight points and 11 rebounds.

Tamir Jackson scored 13 points and Lucas Kuipers 11 for the Owls (4-2), who had lost to Northern Iowa in this tournament the night before. (The Panthers were playing Providence in a game last night that was in progress at press time).

Allen's 3-pointer with 13:30 remaining in the first half commenced a 13-0 run that gave the Cyclones permanent control of the game. McGee ended the surge with consecutive 3-pointers, the second giving Iowa State a 26-16 lead.

Iowa State made 14 of 29 3-point shots, paced by Babb's 7 of 11. The 14 treys ties for the third-best effort in school history, and Babb's career-high seven is tied for seventh on the individual list. The Cyclones have made 10 or more treys in five of six games this year.

Babb and Christopherson both hit a pair of treys in a four-minute flurry in the middle part of the second half that stretched the lead to 20 points (65-45) with 9:00 minutes left. Iowa State led by as many as 29 points in the second half

The Cyclones play Northern Iowa this Wednesday night in Ames.