MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The Iowa State mens basketball team (1-4, 0-2 Big 12 led late at No. 8 West Virginia (7-1, 1-0 Big 12), but the Cyclones upset bid came up just short, falling to WVU, 70-65.
Rasir Bolton gave the Mountaineers everything they could handle while facilitating the Cyclone offense. He finished the game with 25 points on 9-17 shooting. He also pulled down four boards, churned out four assists and collected a steal, all without committing a turnover.
How It Happened
The Cyclones and Mountaineers were deadlocked early in the contest. The two teams traded leads six times in the first five minutes. WVU gained some momentum out of the first media timeout and pushed its lead to 18-11.
The Cyclones answered. ISU went on a 12-4 run, which was punctuated by some good ball movement and a Tyler Harris three, putting Iowa State up 23-22 at the under eight minute timeout. West Virginia briefly reclaimed the lead, but a Bolton lay-in with 0:19 left in the first stanza gave the Cyclones a 31-30 advantage at the break.
Out of the break, the Cyclones spurred a 12-2 run and worked their lead to 43-36. Iowa State opened the second half 7-9 from the field, which included six-straight field goals.
ISU led by as many as nine in the second half, but the Mountaineers answered. WVU came back and tied the game at 51-51 with nine minutes to go in the game.
The Cyclones led for nearly the entire second half, but West Virginia reclaimed the lead (64-63) at the 50.6 mark. On the ensuing Iowa State possession, Bolton knocked down a pair of free throws to put the Cyclones back on top.
With 20 seconds to play, Miles McBride drew a foul, hit both free throws, and put WVU back up, 66-65. Down the stretch, the Mountaineers were able to hit their free throws and fend off a late Iowa State upset bid. In the end it was WVU over ISU, 70-65.
Next Up
Iowa State will return home on Sunday, Dec. 20 at noon to host Jackson State.
