Iowa State 87, Oklahoma State 76
AMES, Iowa -- It wasn't business as usual for Iowa State from the perimeter Wednesday night.
But the Cyclones were home. And that -- eventually -- made for more of the usual inside Hilton Coliseum: an 87-76 win over Oklahoma State before a rowdy sellout crowd.
Iowa State, as good as anyone in the Big 12 at home, gave its fans a parting gift in the final home game of the season, clinching a winning record in the conference at 10-7 and moving to 20-10 overall. The Cyclones improved to 8-1 in conference home games and 16-1 inside Hilton for the season.
The No. 13-ranked Cowboys had their five-game road winning streak snapped, falling to 12-5 and 22-7.
Iowa State, which led by 15 at one point, never trailed after the 16:00 mark of the first half. Still, the Cyclones had to fend off Oklahoma State, which pulled within three at 67-64 with 6:22 to play.
That's when ISU went back to its strength, getting 3-pointers from Will Clyburn and Tyrus McGee during an 8-0 run that extended the lead and essentially ended the Cowboys' comeback bid.
Clyburn led the Cyclones with 20 points, while Georges Niang added 18.
Marcus Smart scored a game-high 24 points for the Cowboys, with 16 coming in the second half to spur Oklahoma State's rally.
Iowa State led by as many as 15 points in the first half and carried a 39-29 advantage into halftime.
Known for offense, the Cyclones did it with defense through the first 20 minutes, forcing Oklahoma State into difficult possessions and shots. The Cowboys shot just 32.3 percent from the floor and missed all nine of their 3-point tries on the way to a 10-of-31 performance.
The Cyclones went on a 30-7 run to take their biggest lead, 30-15, at the 7:22 mark. During that stretch, they scored on 13 of 18 possessions.
Seven Iowa State players scored in the first half, with Niang leading the way with 12 points. Tyrus McGee added nine off the bench.
Markel Brown led the Cowboys with nine points but made just 2 of 8 shots from the field. Smart added eight but struggled to a 3-of-11 shooting effort, including 0-of-4 from the arc.
Iowa State closes the regular season at West Virginia Saturday, while the Cowboys return home to face No. 9 Kansas State.
NOTES: It was Senior Day at Hilton Coliseum, where Iowa State saluted six seniors: Chris Babb, Anthony Booker, Clyburn, Korie Lucious, Austin McBeth and McGee. All six started their careers at different schools and only McBeth played more than two seasons with the Cyclones. ISU entered the game having won 10 of its last 14 Senior Day games. ... Cowboys freshman Smart has been named a finalist for the Oscar Robertson Award, one of the national player of the year awards, and the Tisdale Award recognizing the nation's top freshman. ... Iowa State is one of just three teams nationally with five players (Niang, Melvin Ejim, Clyburn, Lucious and McGee) averaging double figures scoring, along with Missouri and North Carolina State.
