McKay sharp as ISU rolls to 4-0 start

Jameel McKay, a red-shirt senior forward, had 23 points and eight rebounds to power No. 4 Iowa State in a 99-77 victory over Virginia Tech in the semifinal round of the Emerald Coast Classic Friday night at Northwest Florida State College Arena in Niceville, Fla.

Iowa State (4-0) last opened with four straight wins in 2013-14, when it started 14-0.

Cyclones senior forward Abdel Nadel had a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards.

Iowa State shot 56.9 percent (37-of-65).

Junior forward Zach LeDay totaled 17 points and eight rebounds and sophomore guard Justin Bibbs added 15 points for Virginia Tech (3-2), which had won three straight since a season-opening loss to Alabama State.

McKay scored 15 points in the first half as the Cyclones took a 52-30 lead at the break. Zach LeDay's layup with 7:12 left in the opening period closed the gap to 27-22, but Iowa State closed the half on a 25-8 run.

The Cyclones led by as many as 32 points in the second half.

Iowa State faces Illinois in the championship game at 6 p.m. Saturday (CBSSN).

The Illini topped UAB, 72-58, Friday, eliminating the chance for Iowa State to get a rematch with the team that knocked it out of the NCAA Tournament in March, when ISU was a three seed and UAB a 14 seed.