Iowa State at TCU final score: Cyclones struggle but prevail in 71-60 victory

17th-ranked Iowa State did everything it could to give this game away and help TCU get their first victory in Big 12 play this season, but Georges Niang and the defense took over late and sealed the deal in what ended up being a double-digit, 71-60 victory.

Feb 22, 2014; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Georges Niang (31) shoots the ball over TCU Horned Frogs center Karviar Shepherd (1) during the first half of a men

The Cyclones (21-5, 9-5) were led by DeAndre Kane and Niang, who combined for 39 of their 71 points. Separately, Niang finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists, one steal, one block, and zero turnovers. Kane led the team with 20 points, six rebounds, five assists, one steal, and just one turnover.

For a 90-second segment beginning at the 4:41 mark left in the game, Niang scored six straight points for Iowa State, putting them ahead 67-58 with 3:11 left. As TCU was running out of time, Kane attempted to strip the ball out of Kyan Anderson‘s hands twice and was successful on the second attempt. Melvin Ejim took possession of the ball and had a long, outlet pass to Kane who easily scored on transition to put the game away.

Ejim ended up with 14 points and four rebounds, but two early fouls plagued him from really being aggressive in the game. He quietly shot 6-of-12 from the field.

The Cyclones were absolutely awful from 3-point range, making just 1-of-11 and spending most of the game attacking in the paint. Perhaps there was a change in the gameplan after finding out TCU’s Amric Fields was out for the game. Reports spawned about an hour before tip-off that Fields wouldn’t be in the starting lineup and wouldn’t even step on the court.

Karviar Shepherd stepped in the place of Fields for the Horned Frogs (9-17, 0-14), finishing with 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Anderson had a team-high 18 points, five rebounds, four assists, and five turnovers.

Iowa State escapes Fort Worth with their third straight victory. Their last loss came in a blowout at West Virginia, and they’ll have a rematch against the Mountaineers on Wednesday night. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM Central time and it will be televised on the Big 12 Network.