Iowa State holds off West Virginia in Top-25 battle
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Morgantown, WV (SportsNetwork.com) - Abdel Nader finished with 19 points as No. 17 Iowa State held off 14th-ranked West Virginia 74-72 on Saturday.
Georges Niang finished with 16 points and five rebounds, Dustin Hogue netted 11 points and Jameel McKay chipped in with six points, seven rebounds and five blocks for the Cyclones (12-2, 2-0 Big 12), who have won nine of their last 10 games.
"I couldn't be more proud of how our guys fought through adversity tonight," said Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg. "(Nader) was unbelievable tonight, not only hitting shots, he was getting to the free throw line and getting to the basket. I thought he showed good poise against the press. We needed every one of those points and he hit some big free throws down the stretch."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Juwan Staten scored a game-high 23 points and Devin Williams supplied 14 points and 15 boards as the Mountaineers (14-2, 2-1) had their seven-game winning streak come to an end.
"We had guys open and we didn't pass the ball," West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said. "We struggled to make shots at times. You have to pass the ball and have a defense to do that anyway."
The Mountaineers pulled within three points as Connor Chase made a trey and after the two teams traded baskets, Staten's 3-point play made it a 69-68 game with 55 seconds to play.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gary Browne stole the ensuing inbounds pass and called a timeout. Jonathan Holton missed a layup and Bryce Dejean-Jones went down the court for a layup and a 71-68 lead with 29 seconds to go.
Staten missed both shots from the foul line, but Holton and Williams each made a pair around two from Nader for a 73-72 score with just six seconds remaining.
West Virginia quickly fouled to send Naz Long to the line. Long made his first shot, but missed his second. Nathan Adrian quickly pulled the ball down and heaved it from his side of half-court, but the ball fell short as time expired.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Iowa State led by eight points early on, but West Virginia used a 10-3 run to draw even heading into halftime. Browne and Staten each supplied triples and Staten's pair of free throws with two seconds to play made it a 32-32 contest.
With the game tied less than three minutes into the second half, Monte Morris hit a trey to ignite a 7-0 burst that put the Cyclones back ahead 44-37.
After McKay threw down a slam for an eight-point Iowa State advantage, West Virginia began to dismantle the Cyclones' lead. Jaysean Paige bookended a 10-2 run with triples that made it a 55-55 game with 7:37 to play.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Browne's free throw gave the Mountaineers a 58-57 lead, but McKay went in on a layup and Nader hit two free throws to put the Cyclones back on top with under five minutes to play.
Staten cut the deficit to one point with a layup, but Nader drained a triple off a dish from Long and hit two free throws for a 66-60 score with 3:28 to play.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Iowa State has won six straight games against conference opponents ... The Cyclones lead the all-time series, 4-1 ... Iowa State is now 19-2 when Morris has at least five assists. He finished with six ... The Cyclones shot 50 percent from the field, while the Mountaineers were held to a paltry 32.4 shooting percentage.