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Cyclones pull off upset
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Senior Will Clyburn scored 20 points and host Iowa State beat No. 13 Oklahoma State, 87-76, in a Big 12 Conference game Wednesday night to bolster its NCAA tournament hopes.
Georges Niang added 18 points for the Cyclones (20-10, 10-7), who notched just their second victory against a ranked opponent.
Oklahoma State trailed by as many as 15 points, but Marcus Smart's reverse dunk made it 70-68 with 4:28 left. Clyburn answered with a 3 and Tyrus McGee's 3 a minute later put the Cyclones ahead, 78-68.
Smart was brilliant for Oklahoma State (22-7, 12-5), scoring 24 points with eight rebounds and five steals. But it wasn't enough as the Cowboys lost for just the second time in 12 games.
Oklahoma State's past three wins were by an average of double digits and the Cowboys were rolling ahead of a key final week against the Cyclones and No. 9 Kansas State.
Le'Bryan Nash and Markel Brown each had 14 points for the Cowboys, who shot an abysmal 4 of 23 from 3-point range.
Oklahoma State was just one of four teams to rally from behind and beat Iowa State in the final minute this season.
The Cyclones did their best to ensure they wouldn't be in such a position again.
Iowa State, which blew a lead in the final minute and lost on Smart's buzzer-beater on Jan. 30, started the game on a 30-15 run. Niang buoyed the early spurt with 12 points, and Iowa State held the Cowboys scoreless on nine tries from 3-point range in building a 10-point halftime lead.
Niang swatted away an alley-oop pass before it got anywhere near the rim to open the second half. Clyburn followed with a transition 3, and Iowa State was off and running again.
McGee finished with 14 points and Melvin Ejim had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Cyclones.
The Cyclones, who are 16-1 at home, finish the regular season on the road against West Virginia on Saturday. Though Iowa State is in much better shape for the postseason after beating the Cowboys, it might need to beat the Mountaineers to ensure they don't have another home game this season -- in the NIT.
More Top 25 men
• Michigan 80, Purdue 75: Trey Burke had 26 points and five rebounds to lead the visiting No. 7 Wolverines' (25-5, 12-5 Big Ten) rally in a victory over the Boilermakers (14-16, 7-10).
• Florida 66, Vanderbilt 40: Kenny Boynton scored 15 points, Patric Young added 14 and the host No. 11 Gators (24-5, 14-3 SEC) routed the Commodores (13-16, 7-10) to clinch the regular-season championship.
• VCU 93, Richmond 82: Treveon Graham scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, including the go-ahead basket with 2:58 to play, and the host No. 21 Rams (24-6, 12-3 A-10) beat the city rival Spiders (17-13, 7-8).
Top 25 women
• Delaware 86, Georgia State 58: Elena Delle Donne scored 24 points, Danielle Parker reached 1,000 career rebounds and the host No. 16 Blue Hens (26-3, 17-0 CAA) scored the first 16 points to defeat the Panthers (13-16, 5-13).
• Toledo 63, Ball State 39: Naama Shafir and Yolanda Richardson scored 14 points apiece to push the host No. 25 Rockets (27-2, 15-1 MAC) past the Cardinals (15-14, 12-4).
First Published March 7, 2013 12:32 am
