Georges Niang scored 23 points, floor leader Monte Morris added 16 and No. 15 Iowa State pulled away in the second half to beat TCU 83-66 on Saturday.
Iowa State (16-4, 6-2 Big 12) ran its homecourt winning streak to 19 with its first double-digit win in conference play. The Cyclones’ previous five league victories had been decided by a total of 18 points.
Bryce Dejean–Jones scored 16 points and Dustin Hogue had 12 for the Cyclones, who won their second straight after a humbling loss at Texas Tech a week ago. TCU (14-7, 1-7) stayed close for a half, causing some edginess among the Cyclone faithful, but Iowa State finally took control with a pair of big runs in the second half.
Trey Zeigler led TCU with 14 points and Chris Washburn scored 11.
Iowa State is the Big 12’s most prolific 3-point shooting team, but the Cyclones created separation in this one by going inside.
Dejean-Jones backed in for a turnaround shot that put ISU up 27-26 and the Cyclones kept attcking. Morris, Niang and Dejean-Jones all drove for buckets before Morris sliced through the defense for a layup just ahead of the halftime buzzer, putting Iowa State up 35-33.
Iowa State started the second half with a 10-2 run that included four more baskets inside for a 45-35 lead. Niang took it to the basket again after TCU drew within five, then knocked down a 3-pointer. Jameel McKay’s follow shot made it 52-40 with 12:43 left.
TCU, which gave No. 9 Kansas all it could handle in a 64-61 loss last Wednesday, hung around for another couple of minutes and trailed just 52-47 with 11 minutes to go.
But Dejean-Jones hit a turnaround in transition and Niang dropped in two free throws, starting another 10-2 burst that made it 62-49. Adbel Nader’s 3 from the deep right corner on a pass from Morris stretched the lead to 77-59 and Iowa State fans — finally — could relax as the game wound down.
Niang frustrated TCU with a series of spinning moves and jump hooks around the basket. The 6-foot-8 junior finished 8-for-15, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out three assists.
Morris shot 7-for-9 and tacked on six assists, a steal and a block.
