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Wiggins, Kansas outlast Iowa State

Jan 30, 2014 - 6:33 AM Lawrence, KS (SportsNetwork.com) - If Wednesday's Kansas-Iowa State Big 12 showdown was a boxing match, Andrew Wiggins provided the knockout blow.

Wiggins set a career-high for the second consecutive game, scoring 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting to lead the No. 6 Jayhawks past the pesky Cyclones, 92-81, at Allen Fieldhouse.

Perry Ellis chipped in with 20 points and Joel Embiid provided 14 points and 11 rebounds for Kansas (16-4, 7-0 Big 12), which has rattled off seven straight wins -- five coming against ranked opponents.

Naadir Tharpe was also a key contributor for the Big 12 leaders, finishing with 12 points and 12 assists.

Iowa State (15-4, 3-4) kept getting up off the mat despite falling in multiple double-digit holes, but the Cyclones ultimately fell for the fourth time in their last five games.

"At the end of the day...we gave ourselves an opportunity in as tough of an environment as we are going to play in," Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg said.

Georges Niang scored 24 points, DeAndre Kane added 22 and Melvin Ejim 18 with eight rebounds in the latest setback.

The final score did not do Iowa State justice. The Cyclones rallied from a 13- point deficit in the second half and pulled within 73-72 on a Niang 3-pointer with 4 1/2 minutes remaining.

Embiid answered with a dunk, and Wiggins took over from there.

After Kansas forced a turnover, Dustin Hogue came from behind and sent the star freshman into the backboard support, drawing an intentional foul.

"I think that fired us up a little bit and gave us more momentum to go through the whole game," Wiggins said.

Wiggins made both free throws, then boxed out his defender for putback layup on the bonus possession. Seconds later, Tharpe came away with a steal and threw an outlet pass for an open Wiggins, whose emphatic dunk had the Jayhawks suddenly in front by an 81-72 margin with under three minutes to play.

Kansas made its final 10 free throws to close out the deceptively close win.

The Jayhawks controlled the opening 10 minutes by dominating inside, as they scored nine of their first 21 points off the offensive glass and went in front 30-14 following a Wiggins jumper.

But the Cyclones cut into the deficit by catching fire from behind the arc, including a stretch where they hit from deep on four straight possessions.

Kane had a chance to tie things late in the half but split a trip at the foul line to keep Iowa State down by one, 44-43.

Embiid's two free throws inside the final minute sent Kansas into the break ahead by three, and Kane evened it up, 46-46, with a 3-pointer on the first possession out of the locker room.

Kansas, though, again appeared to pull away with 11 consecutive points, the last three coming on one of four of Wiggins' 3-pointers.

Iowa State fought back yet again, only to see its rally come up short.

Game Notes

Kansas swept the season series, winning 77-70 in Ames on Jan. 13, and has won nine straight at home against the Cyclones ... Wiggins set his previous high of 27 points against TCU on Saturday ... Kansas made 51.6 percent of its shots ... The Jayhawks had 19 second-chance points to Iowa State's nine.