Izaiah Brockington recorded 23 points and 13 rebounds and Tyrese Hunter scored 15 of his 19 points after halftime as host Iowa State extended its season-opening winning streak with a 68-60 victory against Alabama State on Tuesday in Ames, Iowa.
Stuck in an offensive rut to begin the night, the Cyclones (3-0) scored 24 of the game’s next 32 points after falling behind 31-29 with 16:49 left. That surge produced a 14-point lead, but the Hornets trimmed the deficit to 56-53 with 4:50 to go.
Neither team scored again until Brockington delivered a putback dunk with 2:02 left. Hunter stole the ball on the ensuing Hornets possession and had a slam that ended up as a three-point play, boosting the advantage to eight.
The Cyclones shot 37.1 percent from the field compared to 43.9 percent for the Hornets (0-4). Iowa State overcame a 1-for-20 effort from deep by forcing 23 turnovers.
Isaiah Range amassed 15 points and 10 rebounds for Alabama State. Jordan O’Neal chipped in 12 points and six boards, while Trace Young had nine points and six rebounds.
Robert Jones scored nine points for Iowa State. Hunter dished six assists.
Iowa State struggled to 33.3 percent shooting in the first half, faring only marginally better than Alabama State, which hit 29.6 percent from the floor before intermission. Brockington led all scorers with 13 points at the break, shooting 5-for-9 while his teammates went 6-for-24.
E.J. Clark paced the Hornets with seven first-half points.
The Cyclones raced to an 8-0 lead 3:41 into the game and didn’t yield a field goal until nearly five minutes had passed. Alabama State scored its first points of the night at the 15:39 mark, as O’Neal swished a pair of free throws.
Iowa State has won each of its three meetings with Alabama State, all in the past 11 years.
–Field Level Media
