Jaren Holmes had 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Tre King recorded 13 points and seven rebounds to lead Iowa State to a stunning 73-58 rout of No. 7 Baylor in Big 12 play on Saturday at Waco, Texas.
Gabe Kalscheur scored 12 points as the Cyclones (18-12, 9-9 Big 12) snapped a four-game losing streak and won for just the third time in 11 contests. Iowa State led for more than 35 1/2 minutes while beating the Bears by 15 points for the second time this season.
Adam Flagler scored 20 points and LJ Cryer added 13 for Baylor (22-9, 11-7), which lost for the third time in the past five games. Leading scorer Keyonte George (ankle) returned from a one-game absence but had just seven points on 3-of-10 shooting.
The Cyclones outplayed Baylor from the outset in their first contest since third-leading scorer Caleb Grill was dismissed from the team due to “a failure to meet the program’s expectations.”
Iowa State ended a nine-game losing streak in Waco dating back to an 87-82 triumph on Feb. 20, 2013.
The Cyclones shot 54.2 percent from the field, including 6 of 16 from 3-point range, and owned a 36-24 rebounding edge.
Baylor connected on 35.8 percent of its attempts and was 10 of 28 from behind the arc. Flagler made five 3-pointers for the Bears.
King hit a 3-pointer to start the second half and give Iowa State a 36-22 lead. Baylor answered with 10 straight points, capped by 3-pointers from Cryer and Flagler, to move within four.
The Cyclones responded by scoring the next 11 points. Kalscheur scored five points during the spurt, including a 3-pointer to make the score 47-32 with 12:07 remaining.
The Bears scored eight of the next 10 points to move within nine but Kalscheur drained a three to start a 9-0 run, and Iowa State took a 58-40 lead on a jumper by Osun Osunniyi with 5:51 left. Baylor was unable to make a late charge as the Cyclones’ lead topped out at 20.
Iowa State shot 54.2 percent (13 of 24) from the field in the first half while taking a 33-22 lead. Baylor was just 8 of 29 (27.6 percent) in the half.
The Cyclones used an 11-4 run to open up a 22-11 lead on a basket by Robert Jones with 6:03 left in the half.
Cryer hit a 3-pointer to tentatively halt the Iowa State charge. But Holmes scored two baskets and King hit a jumper to make it a 28-14 game with 3:26 remaining in the half.
–Field Level Media
