North Dakota State
8-5
Iowa State
9-5
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota State | 21 | 33 | 54 |
| Iowa State | 24 | 43 | 67 |
Hubalek, Taylor Carry Cyclones Past Bison, 67-54
12/31/2006 4:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
AMES, Iowa (AP)--Jiri Hubalek topped his career high with 19 points and Mike Taylor scored all of his 17 points in the second half, helping Iowa State pull away to a 67-54 victory over North Dakota State on Sunday.
Hubalek also grabbed 11 rebounds, one short of his career best, and Wesley Johnson contributed another 11 rebounds for Iowa State (9-5), which struggled against its highly disciplined opponent for the first 30 minutes. Rahshon Clark scored 12 for the Cyclones.
Mike Nelson led North Dakota State (8-5) with 17 points, Ben Woodside scored 16 and Andre Smith 14.
The game sent Iowa State coach Greg McDermott against the school he coached in the 2000-01 season. McDermott left after that season to begin a five-year stint at Northern Iowa and he moved to Iowa State last March.
Northern Iowa beat Iowa State earlier this season and the Cyclones had to scramble to avoid leaving their coach with another loss to one of his former teams. Hubalek, whose previous best was 16 points against Texas A&M last season, was the main reason Iowa State pulled it out.
He had been averaging only 7.6 points and had not played well after returning from a six-game suspension at the beginning of the season. But the 6-foot-11 junior established himself down low and made 6-of-13 shots on a variety of low-post moves and went 7-for-8 at the free throw line.
North Dakota State, which upset then-No. 8 Marquette earlier this season, led by four in the first half and was up 30-28 after Woodside's 3-pointer early in the second half.
Iowa State tied it on Taylor's first basket and Clark scored underneath to put the Cyclones ahead to stay. Taylor then hit a 3 to make it 35-30 and Iowa State eventually took control with the help of a technical foul on Smith.
North Dakota State trailed 42-36 when Smith was whistled after jawing with the officials. Johnson sank the two free throws for the technical, starting a 14-6 run that stretched the lead to 56-42 with 4:14 remaining. Hubalek got two inside baskets and sank two free throws during the run.
Woodside's fourth 3-pointer of the game capped a 7-0 burst that drew the Bison to 56-49. But consecutive layups by Taylor and Clark blunted the Bison's charge and they never threatened again.
NDSU is at Eastern Michigan on Wednesday night.
