LDN - Sports

Iowa upsets No. 25 Iowa State

[December 09, 2016] IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Iowa has endured a rough start to their 2016-17 season. But the Hawkeyes picked up their biggest victory of the season to date Thursday night, upsetting No. 25 Iowa State 78-64.

The win is Iowa's first against its in-state rival in four years.

"Nobody in the country thought we were going to win tonight, except for us," senior guard Peter Jok said after getting his first win in four tries against the Cyclones. "We were really dialed in."

Jok led Iowa with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting and hauled in a team-high nine rebounds. Senior guard Matt Thomas finished with 14 points to lead Iowa State. He was one of five Cyclones to score in double figures.

The game began with hot shooting from both teams. Iowa went ahead 13-12 at the under-16 timeout of the first half thanks to making five of its first seven shots. Likewise, Iowa State made five of its first nine shots to begin the contest.

This was where the game began to turn in the Hawkeyes' favor. Iowa took advantage of Iowa State head coach Steve Prohm going to his bench and went on a 10-0 run to extend its lead to 11 points. Leading the charge was sophomore forward Nicholas Baer, who scored five points during this stretch, including a coast-to-coast lay-up that also drew contact.

"Getting a chance to participate in this rivalry and make plays in this rivalry is just an honor for me," Baer, a Bettendorf native, said after finishing with 10 points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench. "After that play, I was just feeling particularly emotional because that's how I play. That's who I am."

Also, aiding the Hawkeyes cause was having the Cyclones go on a field-goal drought of 6:09 where the only points Iowa State scored came on a pair of free throws from senior guard Nazareth Mitrou-Long.

"Our offense, we didn't really run any offense, like we usually do," Cyclones senior guard Deonte Burton said. "It was really non-existent."

The second half began with neither team getting anything going. Iowa missed a chance to deliver an early knockout blow after taking a 44-29 lead into halftime and the Cyclones started to chip away at the lead, but not crack it entirely.

Iowa State had a stretch where it made five consecutive buckets to get within seven points with 11:10 left. But the Cyclones were unable to get any closer.

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"We were bad," Prohm said. "We lost to Cincinnati by one, Gonzaga by two. But we competed the right way in those two games. The second half, we were good if you look at their percentages in the second half. But we lost that game in the first half."

The Hawkeyes finally put the game away for good inside the final five minutes. Leading 63-53, freshman guard Jordan Bohannon connected on a pass to midcourt with fellow freshman guard Isaiah Moss, who converted a layup to make it a 12-point game. Moments later, Moss rebounded a missed 3-pointer from Baer and the put-back made it 67-53 with 3:28 remaining.

Moss delivered the dagger into Iowa State with another layup that drew contact with just over a minute left to make it 72-61. He finished with 14 points.

"He's really good at that, so we put him in that position to run our press attack and get him flying down the floor," Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said of Moss. "He's a great finisher and he has great confidence in his ability to get there quickly. He is so fast and quick and just explosive."

Both teams will return to the hardwood on Dec. 17 at the Big Four Classic in Des Moines. Iowa will play Northern Iowa, while Iowa State faces Drake.

NOTES: Former Iowa and Arizona head coach Lute Olson was in attendance at Carver-Hawkeye Arena for Thursday's game. Olson guided the Hawkeyes to their most recent Final Four appearance back in 1980. ... Thursday's win over Iowa State was the second for Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery since taking over the Hawkeye program in 2010. The Cyclones had won each of the previous three match-ups entering Thursday. ... Scouts from the Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks were in attendance for Thursday's contest between the Cyclones and Hawkeyes.

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