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Iowa State blows through Northern Illinois

Jan 1, 2014 - 6:32 AM Ames, IA (SportsNetwork.com) - Melvin Ejim and Naz Long each scored 17 points as No. 13 Iowa State routed Northern Illinois, 99-63, on Tuesday.

DeAndre Kane nearly recorded a triple-double as the Marshall transfer scored 16 points with 12 assists and eight rebounds for Iowa State (12-0).

Georges Niang scored 14 points, while Dustin Hogue and Monte Morris chipped in with 11 points apiece in the win.

"We wanted to start out fast and jump on them," said Kane. "We wanted to push tempo and get guys open looks."

Dontel Highsmith led all scorers with 19 points for Northern Illinois (5-6), which had a two-game winning streak snapped.

Travon Baker finished with 12 points and was the only other player in double figures for the Huskies.

A pair of Darrell Bowie free throws pulled the visitors within two, 7-5, three minutes into the contest.

Ejim then made back-to-back buckets to ignite a 19-2 run in which the Cyclones took total control of the contest with a 26-7 advantage. Niang scored the final five points of the spurt that was capped with a three-point play.

A pair of Highsmith free throws capped an 8-2 stretch that cut the deficit to 45-31 with 4:04 to play in the opening half, but the Cyclones outscored the visitors 10-3 for the remainder of the frame to take a 21-point lead at the break.

The Iowa State lead flared to 68-41 following a jumper from Kane that capped an 8-0 run with 14:52 to go in the second.

Morris then scored six straight later in the half for a 77-48 Cyclones advantage.

The final margin was the largest lead of the game for the hosts.

Game Notes

Iowa State opens up Big-12 play at Texas Tech on Saturday ... The Cyclones shot 37-of-63 (58.7 percent) from the field and held the Huskies to 22-of-68 (32.4 percent) ... Iowa State tallied 28 assists compared to 11 from NIU ... The Huskies did, however, outrebounded Iowa State 46-36.