ISU guard perfect in a rout of Drake

AMES - Three exams and a project had Scott Christopherson bleary-eyed for last week's season opener.

Rested and ready for the first of three in-state rivalry games, the Iowa State guard had Drake's defense seeing stars last night at Hilton Coliseum. Christopherson poured in 29 points and hit all 11 of his shots from the field in a 91-43 drubbing, the Bulldogs' worst loss in a series that dates to 1908.

Inside. Outside. it didn't matter. The kid couldn't miss.

“It was just one of those nights,” Christopherson said. “Even in warm ups ... it felt no matter what I threw up it felt like it was going in. I'm glad it carried over to the game.”

Last year it was Lucca Staiger's 10 3-pointers helping to blow away the Bulldogs.

This time it was Christopherson's hot shooting and a swarming defense ripping out their hearts and keeping ISU Coach Fred Hoiberg perfect this season (3-0) and for his career (5-0) against Drake as a player and coach.

“We were very aware, and he still got shots,” a contrite Drake Coach Mark Phelps said of Christopherson. “We need to get a lot better defensively, but he had quite a night. ... That was a good, old-fashioned whipping. They beat us in every way.”

Christopherson tied his previous career high of 19 points before halftime.

After two free throws with 8:49 to play, he had more points behind his name (29) than the Drake team (28). Hoiberg took him out at that point and kept him out, despite protests from the Cyclone Alley student section.

ISU's 91 points were the most scored in the series since a 94-69 victory Dec. 6, 1994.

Diante Garrett and freshman Melvin Ejim scored 14 points apiece. Garrett added 10 assists.

“That ball was moving,” Christopherson said. “I ended up being the recipient of a lot of those passes. When that ball is moving like that it's hard to guard when you've got guys who can make plays.”

Christopherson - usually a 3-point shooter - was hitting from all over the floor. He hit five shots from beyond the arc.

It more than made up for a 1-of-10 shooting night last Friday against Northern Arizona. A heavy load of school work helped contribute to that ugly effort.

“You could see his eyes were half shut,” Hoiberg said. “It was good for him to get that first (bad game) out of the way and come back strong tonight.”

The 170th meeting between the schools got out of hand in a hurry. ISU turned a tie game after four minutes into a 31-9 lead after DeMarcus Phillips' tip in with 6:25 to go before the break.

Garrett's baseline shot seconds before the halftime buzzer gave the Cyclones a 45-21 advantage.

Forward Calvin Godfrey had just two points but pulled down 14 rebounds. Another reserve, walk-on guard Bubu Palo, finished with six points and seven rebounds.

“We just continue to play very unselfish basketball,” Hoiberg said.

Jake Anderson shook off the flu and played 25 minutes.

The Cyclones next face Creighton and former coach Greg McDermott Sunday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.