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No. 16 Cyclones take down No. 22 Wildcats

Jan 26, 2014 - 6:23 AM Ames, IA (SportsNetwork.com) - Melvin Ejim posted 20 points and nine rebounds as No. 16 Iowa State took an 81-75 victory over 22nd-ranked Kansas State on Saturday.

Georges Niang had 18 points, and Matt Thomas gave 14 points for the Cyclones (15-3, 3-3 Big 12), who had lost their last three games.

"Guys put those losses behind us. They wanted to come out and win in the worst way," Cyclones head coach Fred Hoiberg said.

Marcus Foster scored 20 points with five rebounds, and Shane Southwell had 14 point and seven boards for the Wildcats (14-6, 4-3), who have lost their past two games.

"They're a good team. We knew it would be tough to win here after they had lost three in a row," Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber said.

A Southwell 3-pointer tied the game at 50 with 13 minutes to play, but Iowa State used a 14-3 run, finished off by a pair of free throws from Ejim with eight minutes to play for a 64-53 lead.

Will Spradling, though, hit three 3s as part of an 11-0 burst from Kansas State, with his third one tying the game at 66-66 with five minutes left.

Niang, though, countered with a 3, and DeAndre Kane followed with a 3-point play for a 72-66 advantage with just over four minutes to play.

Foster's jumper with 1 1/2 minutes to play cut the Wildcats' deficit to 76-73, but Dustin Hogue later hit a free throw after misses at both ends, and Ejim sealed the win with two more from the line with under 30 seconds to play.

Kansas State had built a six-point lead after Southwell hit a 3-pointer to make it a 13-7 game five minutes in, but Iowa State countered with a 10-2 run capped on 3-pointers from Kane and Niang.

Foster countered with a 3-pointer to briefly give the lead back to the Wildcats, but Thomas answered with consecutive longballs as the Cyclones took a lead they did not lose for the rest of the half.

Holding a four-point lead later in the first half, Iowa State closed it out with a 9-1 run as Monte Morris' jumper near the buzzer gave the team a 46-34 lead at the break.

Kansas State scored the first nine points of the second half to cut into its deficit, before Hogue put in a tough layup to break the drought for Iowa State.

Game Notes

Hogue had eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds in the win ... Iowa State shot 48.1 percent, while Kansas State made 42.2 percent of its shots ... These schools meet again on March 1 at Kansas State.