ISU’s crazy comeback

AMES - Fred Hoiberg didn't walk into the locker room on boisterously. The Iowa State coach stayed calm, poised and took the time to look his players in the eyes.

Everybody knew how poorly things went in the first half.

'It really just looked like they were punking us in our own house on senior night,” said junior Georges Niang.

But Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg saw in each of his players' eyes was how engaged and in-the-moment they were.

The Cyclones walked on shaky ground through the first half and the start of the second, 22-0 surge propelled No. 17 Iowa State to a 77-70 win against No. 15 Oklahoma on Monday. The win after 21-point deficit tied the largest second-half comeback in ISU history.

The Sooners (20-9, 11-6) controlled the score, rebounds and turned Iowa State over 10 times in the first half, but a technical foul five minutes into the second half was where momentum turned on a dime.

OU guard Isaiah Cousins was given a technical foul for taunting the Cyclones' (21-8, 11-6) bench, and junior Georges Niang stepped to the free throw line, starting the onslaught of scoring.

'I think when someone gets up in your face and is telling you how they're kicking your butt, you to retaliate in some way,” Niang said. 'Luckily we retaliated in the right way.”

Niang scored 23 points, 20 in the second half, and added eight rebounds and four assists. He scored the first five points of the ISU run in four seconds, and then sophomore Monte Morris took over.

Morris cashed in two 3-pointers and a layup, finishing with 19 points and shooting 3 for 3 from long range. He added five assists and four rebounds, but it was the momentum gained from urgency put forth on defense that keyed the easy offense.

'We were defending and we were out there pressuring and sitting in gaps,” Hoiberg said. 'Guys that were supposed to be in the post were down there digging and making the kick it and the urgency on our closeouts was outstanding.”

Oklahoma turned the ball over nine times in the second half and shot just 32.1 percent from the field while Iowa State upped its second-half shooting to 58.3 percent.

The win pushed Iowa State into a tie for second place in the Big 12 with Oklahoma heading into Saturday's regular-season finale at TCU. And after giving up leads in late stretches of the second half in the last two games, it's the ability to close our a game that gives the team confidence as postseason play nears.

'We really needed to lock in on defense and I think that's what we did,” Niang said. 'We grinded out stops and really pushed the ball in transition.

'Hilton Magic just took over.”

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