MBB Beats Omaha at Home

Ames, Ia- Iowa State Men’s basketball (6-2) came into Hilton Monday night looking to redeem themselves after a tough two game losing streak to Gonzaga and Cincinnati. With the losses, Iowa State also lost their non-conference home winning streak, which did stand at thirty-seven. There was however a bright side heading into the game. Solomon Young was back from his four-game break for his fractured left hand. The 6’8 freshman could have been used in the Cyclones last two outings. On the other side, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (4-5). The Mavericks were already off to a good start here in the state after they took down Iowa 98-89 just two days earlier.
Iowa State came out firing on all cylinders, taking a commanding 36-9 lead in the first twelve minutes. Deonte Burton was a force to be reckoned with throughout the game, scoring all of the Cyclones 13 points to start the half. This all led to a 91-47 victory by the Cyclones.
The first half was completely dominated by Iowa State. Burton started out with a quick fifteen footer for the first points of the game, before going off and hitting three 3’s and a quick jumper in the first three minutes. After a media timeout, things slowed down and neither team scored for a minute and a half. At fourteen and a half, Monte Morris was the first Cyclone besides Burton to score with a shot beyond the arch. Around the fourteen minute mark, Nazareth Mitrou-Long got back to back fast break dunks that brought Hilton to its feet. As the half kept rolling down, Omaha continued to commit turnovers and miss shots. While Iowa State continued to roll up the score. The first half ended with Iowa State up 48-22.
Omaha needed to come out quick to keep themselves in the game, and the opposite happened. The Mavericks wouldn’t score until 15:30 left in the game. Both teams would then take another one and a half minute hiatus from scoring. Iowa State then continued to score more points while Omaha committed turnover after turnover. At 3:18, Iowa State pulled the remainder of their starters and the crowd erupted as fan favorite Stuart Nezlek was put into the game. He would finish his night with two points and a rebound.
Iowa State finished the night, shooting 51% and 52% from beyond the arch. From behind the charity stripe, the Cyclone hit 10 of the 14 shots. The story of the night for Omaha was the turnovers, which happened 19 times. One plus for the Mavericks was their offensive rebounds which they racked up eighteen of.
Deonte Burton was the man of the evening, scoring twenty points, nine of which were threes. Donovan Jackson racked up 15 points, while David Bowie got 12. Matt Thomas won the rebounding battle with seven rebounds and also eight points. Naz Long and Monte Morris finished with 11 and 7 points respectively.
The cyclones will be back in action at Iowa City to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday. The Cyclones last game before break will be the Big Four Classic in Des Moines on the seventeenth against the struggling Drake Bulldogs.