‘Big Game Tae’ hits buzzer beater to push Cyclones over Longhorns

KANSAS CITY — Fade away jumpers aren't a part of Monte Morris' repertoire. Forced into a situation that called for one, he didn't shy away, and Iowa State advances in the Big 12 Championship because of it.

That's why the sophomore point guard's teammates call him 'Big Game Tae.'

'I love him like a little brother,' junior Jameel McKay said. 'I always preach to him if there's ever a time you can be the best player on the court, be the best player on the court.'

Morris took the inbounds pass with 5.8 seconds left and drove to the right side of the lane, absorbed contact and splashed in a 20-foot jumper at the buzzer to give No. 13 Iowa State a 69-67 win against Texas. He finished with a career-high 24 points and was 4 of 5 from long range.

The Longhorns' (20-13, 8-10) defense held up for the most part on the final play, but a slip screen by Georges Niang isolated Morris one-on-one with Demarcus Holland. Morris jumped back to create space, and was just a step inside the 3-point line to send the Cyclones' (23-8, 12-6) on in the tournament.

'That's as good of a game as Monte Morris has played and that's saying something,' Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said. 'He's had some darn good games in his couple years at Iowa State.'

Iowa State's road to defending its Big 12 tournament championship didn't come easily. Another slow start, coupled with the length of Texas, stifled the Cyclones early, as they trailed by as many as 16.

A scoring drought of 9:45 during the first half had the Cyclones in a familiar hole, and Iowa State found itself down by 11 at halftime. That doesn't mean the locker room was calm.

'(Hoiberg) was pissed, that's what he was,' Morris said.

Iowa State came out of the break and Naz Long hit a 3-pointer, but Texas' Jonathan Holmes returned the favor with a 3 of his own 29 seconds later. The Longhorn's lead stayed in a bubble of roughly 10 points for much of the second half, too.

'Every time we made a little run they had an answer,' Hoiberg said. 'That can be deflating. We hit a shot to cut it to seven and they take 33 seconds off the clock to hit a 3 and then it gets back up to 10. That could cause some quit in some guys, but our guys found a way to fight through that and just make play after play down the stretch.'

Texas led 67-57 with 3:56 to go after free throws from Holland, but Hoiberg altered Iowa State's defensive strategy a bit and called for more pressure. That's what it took to get the offense going and for the Sprint Center to turn into a scene of frenzy.

'(Isaiah) Taylor's a great point guard and he handled our lackadaisical pressure early on,' Morris said. 'We just couldn't stop him and he made some big buckets, but we just tried to speed him up.'

Iowa State tied the game in a span of 2:09 after a 10-second violation by Texas turned into a Morris 3-pointer. Two shots by the Longhorns in the final minute were no good and Dustin Hogue hauled in the rebound and called the timeout preceding Morris' game-winner.

As the Cyclones mobbed Morris on the court and his mom watched from the stands, Iowa State advanced to the semifinals to face the winner of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

'He's just a big time player,' Niang, who had 22 points, said, 'and made a big time play for us in March.'