No. 17 Iowa St. holds off Oklahoma St.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Ames, IA (SportsNetwork.com) - Dustin Hogue finished with 17 points and eight rebounds and No. 17 Iowa State used two key blocks in the waning seconds to hold off Oklahoma State for a 63-61 win in its Big 12 opener.
Hogue shot 7-for-9 from the floor, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range, Georges Niang and Matt Thomas each scored 10 points and Monte Morris contributed eight points and six assists for the Cyclones (11-2, 1-0 Big 12), who bounced back from a 64-60 loss to South Carolina on Saturday.
"It's great to get the home win and now we get to go on the road and that's where if you're going to win a championship, you've got to go out and steal a couple," said Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Phil Forte paced the Cowboys (11-3, 1-1) with 21 points and Le'Bryan Nash supplied 19 points, six boards and six assists in the loss.
Jeff Newberry scored five straight points and Tavarius Shine's triple got the Cowboys within 56-55 with under seven minutes to play. Each team went cold as the game's next basket was Hogue's 3-pointer 3 1/2 minutes later.
Forte's layup with 55 seconds to play made it a two-point game once again. After Niang missed a free throw, Shine's 3-point try was swatted out of bounds by Hogue.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Forte threw up a desparation shot from beyond the arc off the inbounds, but Niang sealed the win with a block as time expired.
Trailing by a point with 2:30 to play in the first half, Thomas knocked down two treys as Iowa State used an 8-2 run to take a 26-21 lead into halftime after a tight opening 20 minutes of play.
Hogue hit a 3-pointer to start the second half and an 8-2 spurt that featured a triple from Bryce Dejean-Jones for a 34-23 lead, forcing an Oklahoma State timeout less than two minutes into the final stanza.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The Cowboys battled back as Nash scored nine points and Forte and Shine made shots from beyond during a 14-5 swing that got them within two points.
Nash and Forte hit back-to-back treys as Oklahoma State took a 43-42 lead. Iowa State, however, reclaimed the lead with as it responded by outscoring the Cowboys by a 12-4 margin for a 54-47 game with under nine minutes to play.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Iowa State is 11-0 this season when leading at the half ... Nash has scored in double figures in 13 straight games ... The Cyclones have won four straight games against the Cowboys ... Iowa State shot 43.9 percent from the field, while Oklahoma State shot 42.4 percent.