Iowa State beats Chicago State, 104-63

Melvin Ejim and Diante Garrett each scored 18 points and Iowa State closed the first half with a 24-0 run en route to a 104-63 victory over Chicago State on Tuesday night.

Jake Anderson added 17 points for the Cyclones (11-2), who made 11 of their first 13 shots and topped 100 points for the first time in five years.

Chicago State (3-11) hung with the Cyclones for the first 10 minutes and trailed just 35-26 after Carl Montgomery scored on a putback with 9:48 left in the half. But the Cougars didn't score again until the opening minute of the second half, going 21 straight possessions without points.

Iowa State, meanwhile scored on dunks, layups, a 3-pointer by Anderson and 14 free throws to sail into halftime with a 59-26 lead.

Montgomery led Chicago State with 25 points.

Iowa State last scored 100 in a 101-82 victory over Mountain State on Nov. 20, 2005, and it had not reached 104 since 112-109 four-overtime loss to Missouri on Jan. 13, 2001.

Once the Cyclones got rolling in this one, it was only a question of when, not if, they'd reach the century mark.

They got there with 2:34 remaining when Calvin Godfrey sank two free throws to make it 100-61, their largest lead to that point. The final margin was Iowa State's biggest of the game.

Godfrey finished with 10 points, as did Scott Christopherson. Bubu Palo added 12 for the Cyclones, who shot 50 percent.

Ejim, a 6-foot-6 freshman, sparked Iowa State's torrid shooting early. He made his first six shots - throwing down three dunks, knocking in a pair of 3-pointers and hitting a short jumper in the lane - while scoring 14 of the Cyclones' first 23 points.

Chicago State still managed to eke out a one-point lead in the opening 3 minutes and pulled into a tie at 11 on Antonio Lofton's 3-pointer. Ejim then scored nine straight Iowa State points to fuel a 16-4 run that made it 27-15.

The Cougars got the lead back down to six and were still in contention when Montgomery's basket got them within nine. But the rest of the half was a nightmare for the visitors, who went 0-for-13 with 11 turnovers during their scoreless stretch.

And they couldn't stop Iowa State at the other end. Seven players scored for the Cyclones in their big run, with Godfrey getting eight.

Chicago State's drought ended when Hajji Martin scored in the lane 13 seconds into the second half, far too late to make any difference for a team that surrendered 100 points for the fifth time this season.

With the victory, Fred Hoiberg became just the second Iowa State coach to start his first season 11-2. The Cyclones also were 11-2 in Tim Floyd's first season, 1994-95.

Chicago State, which has played only three home games this season, lost earlier games by margins 69, 49, 46 and 40 points.