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Iowa State ends Kansas’ 51-game Allen Fieldhouse winning streak, 92-89 in OT
Feb. 4, 2017 6:01 pm
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Watery eyes and a shaky voice said it all.
Allen Fieldhouse has a reputation for being unforgiving to road teams. Even playing a near-perfect game as a visitor doesn't always translate to a win, with Kansas' 51-game winning streak in the building as the proof.
So when Iowa State men's basketball coach Steve Prohm tried to put in perspective what a 92-89 overtime win at No. 2 Kansas means, emotions ran high.
'It's a tough business, man,' Prohm said. 'Then also, we had come so close so many times this year. You do this because you want to see your kids be happy. You know ... for Monte (Morris) and Naz (Mitrou-Long) and those guys, because you just don't want to let them down.'
The Cyclones (14-8, 6-4) hadn't won a game in Allen Fieldhouse since 2005. They became the only squad to beat a Jayhawks (20-3, 8-2) team coached by Bill Self twice in Lawrence — Self has only 10 home losses since he took over in 2003.
'It was amazing. We were just a fortunate team tonight,' said Morris, the team's senior point guard. 'A very emotional day for myself and my seniors that are along the way because we've come up short every year.'
Here is Steve Prohm's Post-Game Press Conference: February 4, 2017
Here is Steve Prohm's Post-Game Press Conference: pic.twitter.com/bICsGW3UYz
— Cyclone Basketball (@CycloneMBB)
Iowa State cashed in 18 3s, a single-game ISU record, and shot 60 percent from deep in the second half and overtime. Morris and seniors Mitrou-Long and Deonte Burton combined to go 16-for-26 from outside while Iowa State shot 50 percent from the field, including 52.9 percent from 3 (18-34).
'It means a lot (to win here), it does,' Mitrou-Long said. 'I'm not going to say it doesn't. Not many people can say they won in this building.
'For it to be my senior year after going what I went through and to be in a situation like this to win in overtime, there's no other way I'd rather have it man. It's special.'
Burton finished with 29 points (11-for-21 from the field and 7-for-9 from 3) with eight rebounds. Morris had 25 points, seven assists and zero turnovers in 44 minutes while Mitrou-Long had 22 points with six 3-pointers.
Freshman forward Solomon Young played a career-high 32 minutes and grabbed six rebounds in the win, sticking in the rotation through the entire overtime.
Donovan Jackson had 10 points and two 3s, but his biggest came with 28 seconds left in overtime to put the Cyclones up four. Morris made two free throws with 7.5 seconds left to give them their final three-point margin.
'I haven't (seen anything like Iowa State's 3-point shooting),' said KU point guard Frank Mason III, who had 32 points on 9-for-11 shooting with six rebounds and five assists. 'Especially in The Fieldhouse.'
Cyclones outlast No. 3 KU in OT! Here is your finish, courtesy of ESPN2! February 4, 2017
Cyclones outlast No. 3 KU in OT! Here is your finish, courtesy of ESPN2! pic.twitter.com/prF5Dkn27Q
— Cyclone Basketball (@CycloneMBB)
Kansas got up as many as 15 in the first half and allowed just one ISU rebound through the first 17 1/2 minutes. The Jayhawks led 52-38 at the break, had 24 points in the paint, shot 82.3 percent from two-point range and had a 19-3 rebound advantage.
'We weren't boxing out,' Burton said. 'We weren't making those tough plays that we should and we made those plays in the second half.'
Iowa State entered Saturday near the bubble of an NCAA tournament bid and with three home losses on its resume, and ended it with its biggest regular season win in recent memory. While winning at Kansas does a lot for one's resume, Prohm knows eight conference games are still out there.
'Say what you want, you can say anything about me or anything else, but the group of these kids, they're resilient and they've got great character to be able to fight through adversity on the road,' Prohm said. 'This is a huge win for us, but now we have to go get Tuesday (at Texas).'
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Iowa State celebrates a 92-89 overtime victory against Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan., on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017. (Rich Sugg/Kansas City Star/TNS)