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Clyburn leads Iowa State over Oklahoma State

Mar 7, 2013 - 3:49 AM Ames, IA (Sports Network) - Will Clyburn scored 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with five assists and five rebounds as Iowa State downed the surging 13th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys, 87-76, on Wednesday in Big 12 Conference action.

Georges Niang netted 18 points and Melvin Ejim registered a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards for the Cyclones (20-10, 10-7 Big 12), who ended a two-game losing skid to pick up their fourth win in the last six games.

"Will was terrific," Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said of Clyburn. "He was very aggressive all game long, he stepped up and shot that huge three there when they cut it to two. I heard a guy behind me yell 'Why?' and then it went it and we cheered."

Marcus Smart had 24 points and eight rebounds, despite shooting 8-of-22 from the floor, for the Cowboys (22-7, 12-5), who had a three-game winning streak come to an end and entered the contest winners in 10 of their last 11 games. Le'Bryan Nash and Markel Brown each donated 14 points in defeat.

Trailing 66-55 with under 10 minutes remaining, the visitors fought back thanks to a 13-4 spurt to get within 70-68 on Smart's brilliant steal which led to his reverse slam with 4:24 to play.

The Cyclones, however, who lead the nation in 3-pointers per game (9.9) and 3- pointers made (288), scored eight unanswered points to take back control of the contest for a 78-68 edge with three minutes to play. The run was started and capped off with 3-pointers, while Korie Lucious added a layup in between.

Iowa State was able to hold on to the victory from there, while improving to 16-1 on its home court this season.

"We got back in the game a couple of times, but we never could quite get over the hump," Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said. "I think that probably got them in the (NCAA) tournament. I thought they were already in."

Clyburn's dunk just over four minutes into the second half increased Iowa State's margin to 49-35.

Niang later had an easy lay-in to make it 59-48, though he was called for a technical foul after the shot as he knocked down an Oklahoma State defender. The Cowboys took advantage to get within 61-55 on Smart's triple which capped off a quick 7-2 flurry around the midway point of the half.

Oklahoma State opened the contest up with a 6-0 edge before the hosts responded with a 16-2 swing -- highlighted by a trio to 3-pointers -- just seven minutes into the action.

The Cyclones expanded their lead to 30-15 at the 7:24 mark of the first half and headed into halftime up, 39-29.

Game Notes

Iowa State had made 10 or more 3-pointers in eight straight games, but finished shooting 7-of-22 from behind the arc ... Oklahoma State shot a mere 4-of-23 from downtown ... The Cyclones connected on 26-of-35 from the charity stripe ... Iowa State ends the regular season Saturday at West Virginia, while Oklahoma State plays host to Kansas State.