Izaiah Brockington scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead No. 23 Iowa State past Missouri 67-50 Saturday in Ames, Iowa, in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Tyrese Hunter had 14 points and four assists and Aljaz Kunc added 11 points for Iowa State (16-5, 3-5 Big 12), which remained unbeaten in nonconference play.
DaJuan Gordon scored 15 points for the Tigers (8-12, 2-5 SEC), who led by as many as five points during the first half. Amari Davis scored 11 points and Jarron Coleman added 10.
The game was a renewal of a longtime Big 8/Big 12 rivalry. For the 12th time in 21 games this season the Cyclones held their opponent to 64 or fewer points.
Missouri started the game by hitting their first four shots from the floor, including a 3-pointer, to take an early 9-6 lead. Gordon led that charge with seven quick points.
Iowa State responded by holding the Tigers scoreless for the next 5:56 while moving ahead 13-9.
After Hunter hit a second-chance jumper to give the Cyclones an 18-14 lead, Missouri made an 11-2 run behind Ronnie DeGray III’s three free throws and 3-point jumper.
But Iowa State scored eight unanswered points — six of them from Brockington — to turn its 29-24 deficit into a 32-29 halftime lead. A technical foul call on Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin with 14 seconds left in the half helped spur that turnaround.
The Cyclones forced 13 Missouri turnovers in the first 20 minutes while overcoming their 34.5 percent shooting from the floor.
After Missouri pulled even at 34-34 with 16:35 left to play, Iowa State started pulling away by scoring 15 unanswered points.
Hunter hit two jumpers and Brockington, Caleb Grill and Kunc hit 3-point jumpers to spark the Cyclones. They pushed their lead to 55-37 on Kunc’s layup and coasted in from there.
–Field Level Media
