Brackins, Iowa State Stuffs Iowa, 81-71

AMES, Iowa ? Craig Brackins scored 28 points, including 20 in the first half, to pace Iowa State to a 81-71 win over Iowa Friday night in Hilton Coliseum. Brackins, who was 9-of-13 from the field and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, posted his 28th 20-point game of his career in the victory.

The win, which improves ISU's record to 7-3, gives the Cyclones two points in the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series. The Cyclones now lead the season series at 12-7. Iowa falls to 3-7 on the season.

"I am proud of the guys," ISU head coach Greg McDermott said. "It's been a tough couple of weeks, and these guys have stuck with it. Without question, our energy was better tonight. It is not consistent yet, but it was a step in the right direction."

Iowa State jumped out to a 12-4 lead thanks to eight quick points from Brackins. Brackins buried a pair of treys and put down an alley-oop dunk to get the Cyclones out to an eight-point lead at the 15:25 mark of the first half.

Iowa battled back to cut the lead to 16-14, with 10:32 left in the first half behind 3-pointers from Matt Gatens and Brennan Cougill.

Iowa eventually knotted the game at 16-16 and the Cyclones were still clinging to a slight 22-20 lead after Iowa's Jarryd Cole scored inside with 6:44 left in the half. The Cyclones then went on a 12-3 run to mount a 34-23 lead with 3:31 left. Lucca Staiger knocked down a pair of treys in the rally.

After a Gatens' trey cut the lead to 34-27, Brackins scored back-to-back buckets and Diante Garrett tallied a lay-in in the closing seconds to help ISU finish the half on a 7-0 run and take a 41-27 halftime lead. Brackins had 20 points in the first period, markng the fourth time in his career where the All-America candidate scored 20 points or more in a half.

The lead reached 18 points (53-35) with 13:34 left in the game after a pair of baskets from Marquis Gilstrap and Brackins. The Cyclones maintained a comfortable lead throughout most of the second period.

Gilstrap finished the game with 13 points and 10 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season. ISU shot 58.3 percent from the field as a team, the fifth time this season ISU has made 50 percent or more of its shots from the floor.

Next up for the Cyclones is a matchup vs. Bradley on Dec. 20 in Hilton Coliseum.

Next Event

Team Stats

Craig Brackins

Marquis Gilstrap

Diante Garrett

LaRon Dendy

Players Mentioned

Craig Brackins

Craig Brackins

Diante Garrett

Diante Garrett

Marquis Gilstrap

Lucca Staiger

Lucca Staiger

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics