Ames, Iowa – Corey McIntosh gave Iowa State some unexpected scoring with 13 points and Jiri Hubalek hit the go-ahead basket with 1:43 left, helping the Cyclones escape with a 55-53 victory over Colorado on Wednesday night.
Iowa State (14-13, 5-8 Big 12) rallied from a 15-point deficit in the first half and held Colorado scoreless in the final 2:08 to hand the Buffaloes their fourth straight loss.
“It’s never going to be a thing of beauty for us offensively because we can’t shoot the ball well enough,” Iowa State coach Greg McDermott said. “But to our guys’ credit, when it came to crunch time, we got the ball where it needed to go.”
Colorado (6-17, 2-11) missed three shots after Hubalek’s turnaround on the low block gave Iowa State a 55-53 lead. The Buffaloes then got one more chance when Hubalek missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 10 seconds left.
But McIntosh and Rahshon Clark trapped Richard Roby behind the 3-point arc, and Roby lost the ball going up for a shot.
“This one really hurts,” Colorado’s Marcus King-Stockton said. “You can’t really say it was one thing. We had some turnovers and some lapses on defense, and before we knew it they were back in the game.”
Roby led Colorado with 23 points, and Dominique Coleman scored 11. Mike Taylor added 12 points for Iowa State, Wesley Johnson scored 10 to go with nine rebounds and Hubalek finished with nine points.
After cutting Colorado’s lead to four at halftime, Iowa State twice got to within a point and finally tied it at 51 when Taylor banked in a 3 from the top of the key with 4:12 remaining.
Johnson’s follow shot gave Iowa State its first lead, 53-51, but Roby tied it for the final time with a fadeaway.
Colorado started the game by breaking down Iowa State’s defense time after time for close-in shots. Of the Buffaloes’ first nine baskets, seven were layups and another was a dunk.
The Buffaloes stretched their lead to 28-13 on Kal Bay’s 3-pointer before Iowa State closed the half with a 13-2 run capped by McIntosh’s 3 just before the buzzer, drawing the Cyclones to 30-26.
Colorado played without starting guard Xavier Silas (left ankle). Silas averages 11.9 points and scored 19 in Colorado’s victory over Iowa State in Boulder.
COLORADO (6-17, 2-11 BIG 12)
Coleman 5-9 0-0 11, Roby 10-21 1-1 23, Jackson-Wilson 2-5 0-0 4, King-Stockton 1-7 3-6 5, Williams 3-8 1-1 7, Thorne 0-2 0-0 0, Kowal 0-0 0-0 0, Bay 1-6 0-0 3. Totals 22-58 5-8 53.
IOWA STATE (14-13, 5-8)
Clark 1-5 0-0 2, Taylor 5-12 0-0 12, McIntosh 4-10 2-2 13, Hubalek 4-11 1-3 9, W. Johnson 4-8 2-4 10, Dunson 1-5 0-0 3, Currie 0-0 0-0 0, Ceaser 0-1 0-0 0, Gray 0-2 0-0 0, C. Johnson 2-3 2-2 6, Marsden 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-57 7-11 55.
Halftime – Colorado 30-26. 3-point goals – Colorado 4-12 (Roby 2-5, Coleman 1-1, Bay 1-3, Thorne 0-1, Williams 0-2), Iowa St. 6-24 (McIntosh 3-5, Taylor 2-8, Dunson 1-4, Ceaser 0-1, C. Johnson 0-1, W. Johnson 0-2, Clark 0-3). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – Colorado 42 (Jackson-Wilson 11), Iowa St. 34 (W. Johnson 9). Assists – Colorado 8 (Jackson-Wilson 4), Iowa St. 9 (Taylor 5). Total fouls – Colorado 16, Iowa St. 12. A – 11,860.
