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Iowa State takes down No. 5 Kansas

Jan 29, 2012 - 2:32 AM Ames, IA (Sports Network) - Royce White netted 18 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists as Iowa State pulled off a 72-64 upset of fifth- ranked Kansas on Saturday.

Melvin Ejim finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Scott Chirstopherson donated 14 points for the Cyclones (15-6, 5-3 Big 12), who snapped a 13-game losing streak to Kansas.

"Royce has been shooting the heck out of the ball," Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg said. "He hit two huge free throws down the stretch, those were as big of free throws as we've had all season, so I'm proud of him for working at it and continuing to get better."

Tyshawn Taylor paced the Jayhawks (17-4, 7-1) with 16 points and 10 assists and Thomas Robinson netted 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Elijah Johnson, Jeff Withey and Travis Releford all donated 10 points for Kansas, which had its 10-game winning streak stopped.

Down by one, 53-52, with under 8 1/2 minutes to play, Iowa State netted the next six points, capped by a White layup, to go ahead 58-53 with 4 1/2 minutes to go.

A jumper by Johnson pulled Kansas within three, but White answered with a layup on Iowa State's next trip down the floor to push the lead back to 60-55 with 3:43 left.

Taylor dropped a jumper with 2:19 to play to make it 62-59. Robinson was forced to foul on the ensuing possession and White stepped up and calmly stroked two free throws to put the Cyclones up 64-59.

Following a Johnson turnover, Iowa State put the nail in the coffin in the form of a Chris Babb three-pointer from the left wing with 56 seconds to play. The bucket put Iowa State ahead 67-59 and Kansas never recovered.

Iowa State got off to a fast start, leading 19-11 with under 12 1/2 minutes to play in the opening half.

Kansas closed the gap to 22-18, but the Cyclones used a 7-3 push to lead 29-21 with 5:37 to go in the first half.

Kansas, though, roared back with a 10-0 run to grab a 31-29 lead. But it was Iowa State that took a 37-34 lead into the locker room.

The Jayhawks opened the second half with an 11-2 burst to take a 45-39 edge.

Christopherson's two free throws, Anthony Booker's trey and White's free throw gave the Cyclones a 51-49 lead with under 12 minutes to play.

"You have to give them credit," Kansas head coach Bill Self said. "When your guards combine for four rebounds and shoot long shots, that's a bad sign. I thought they were just more active and tougher than we were."

Game Notes

Despite the loss, Kansas holds a dominant 171-59 edge over Iowa State in the all-time series...Iowa State shot 44.4 percent from the floor and 41.2 percent from beyond the arc, while Kansas shot 48 percent from the field and 6-of-17 from three-point range...Iowa State got the better of the play on the glass, outrebounding Kansas, 36-23...Iowa State got 15 points from its bench, while the Jayhawks bench produced five points...The game featured four ties and six lead changes.