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BOX SCORE
AMES, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa State survived the inevitable letdown after beating Kansas.
Marcus Fizer scored 18 of his 28 points in the first half and Kantrail Horton made four 3-pointers as the Cyclones (No. 24 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 AP) beat Kansas State 85-67 Wednesday night.
Playing its first game as a ranked team in nearly three years,
Iowa State (19-3, 7-1 Big 12) started slowly but eventually got
rolling, first with its transition game, then with its 3-point
shooting.
"We struggled at times," said Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy,
whose team upset Kansas last Saturday. "It's just a letdown. I
don't know if that's the word, but it's better than anything I
could come up with. We anticipated a very difficult game and at
times it was."
Fizer put it more succinctly.
"If we keep playing like this, we'll get Ls," he said.
Still, Iowa State was in no danger of losing once it began
pulling away in the first half.
The Cyclones, with their best record ever after 22 games, led by
22 points in the second half and it took four late 3-pointers to
keep Kansas State (8-11, 1-7) from getting blown away completely.
"Sitting in the locker room as coaches it was like we lost,"
Eustachy said. "I said come on guys, this didn't happen much last
year. Let's look at the bright side. We won. We're 7-1. It's kind
of nice to be there."
Kansas State has lost seven straight, its longest losing streak
since dropping 10 in a row in the 1996-97 season.
"We beat ourselves with turnovers and fouls," said Cortez
Groves, who led Kansas State with 18 points. "Fizer is a great
player and Iowa State has good guards. That was the difference."
Kansas State did get the lead down to 75-64 on Groves' 3-pointer
with 3:51 left. But Fizer scored four points and Michael Nurse five
in a 9-2 run that finished off the Wildcats.
Fizer hit 11-of-22 shots in matching his season high and pulled
down 11 rebounds.
"That's the best game Marcus Fizer has ever played against us
without a doubt," Kansas State coach Tom Asbury said. "He was
really a man among boys tonight and certainly contributed to our
demise."
Horton finished with 17 points and Iowa State got a courageous
performance from Nurse, who was hospitalized with a 103-degree
temperature on Tuesday. He scored 16 points, including three
3-pointers.
"His stock, and it was awfully high, just doubled in my mind,"
Eustachy said. "I told him I've never been more proud of a guy. He
really sucked it up. A lot of guys would have been in street
clothes."
Kelvin Howell added 12 points for Kansas State and Josh Kimm 11.
Both teams struggled early. It was 5-5 after five minutes and
then Horton hit a 3-pointer that ignited the Cyclones.
Iowa State built the lead to 20-10, only to see Kansas State cut
it to 20-17 on Howell's tip-in. Iowa State then got its running
game going and took off on a 21-7 run to take control.
The Cyclones scored three baskets in transition, two by Fizer,
in an 8-0 burst. Then Horton hit a 3-pointer and Nurse sank two as
the Cyclones built a 41-24 lead. It was 45-29 at halftime.
Horton's three-point play capped a 9-0 run that gave Iowa State
its biggest lead, 68-46 with 8:28 left.
"I think Larry's done a great job with that group," Asbury
said. "He's obviously a candidate for Big 12 coach of the year,
maybe national coach of the year, the way he's got that group
playing. They're hard-nosed, tough kids."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Kansas State Clubhouse
Iowa State Clubhouse
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