Iowa State Storms Back in Second Half to Stun Iowa 85-82 in Ames

Coming into tonight's game, it had been 26 years since Iowa State and Iowa had faced off with both teams ranked in the top 25. 

After 40 minutes of back-and-forth basketball, the only lingering question is: Can we do it again?

The No. 17 ranked Cyclones (8-0, 0-0 Big 12) stormed back from a seven point halftime deficit to stun the No. 23 Hawkeyes (10-2, 0-0 Big Ten) 85-82 Friday night at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames.

It wasn't pretty, and it wasn't easy, but Fred Hoiberg's bunch showed tremendous toughness and mettle to claw out a tough victory against a bitter instate rival.

Iowa State was led by sophomore forward Georges Niang—who was forced to sit early in the second half with foul trouble—with a career-high 24 points, which included several clutch shots down the stretch. 

Melvin Ejim added 22 points for the Cyclones, and Dustin Hogue added 12 points along with 16 rebounds.

For Iowa, the defeat will be a bitter pill to swallow. They led for most of the game and were able to stem a seemingly endless string of Iowa State runs in the second half. But the one they couldn't stop—Iowa State ended the game on an eight to nothing run—ultimately proved to be their undoing.

The Hawkeyes got their customary production from what is quite possibly the deepest roster in the nation. But the star was junior forward Aaron White—who largely carried the team on his back—with 25 points and 17 rebounds.

Both teams will have plenty of time to recover from Friday's slugfest.

Iowa State doesn't return to the court until Dec. 22 when they host George Mason. Iowa will also be in action that night, when they host Arkansas-Pine Bluff.