NICEVILLE, Fla. — Iowa State faced its first second-half deficit of the season and responded in a big way.
The fourth-ranked Cyclones used a 16-2 run to turn a tight game into a comfortable 84-73 victory over Illinois to claim the championship of the Emerald Coast Classic on Saturday.
The Illini, recently reinforced with returning injured players, gave ISU as much as it could handle throughout much of the game, even leading 6 minutes into the second half, but the Cyclones kicked it into another gear with a small-ball lineup that Illinois couldn’t handle.
Georges Niang scored 23 points on 10 of 15 shooting while Monte Morris had 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists.