OSU Hoops: Cowboys Stumble Down Stretch In Loss To ISU

Monte Morris scored a career-high 30 points and added five rebounds, five assists and four steals to help Iowa State beat Oklahoma State 96-86 on Wednesday night.

Matt Thomas scored 19 and Nazareth Mitrou-Long contributed 17 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Cyclones (11-4, 3-1 Big 12), whose only conference loss was a 65-63 nail-biter at No. 2 Baylor on Jan. 4. It was Iowa State's eighth-straight win over Oklahoma State.

Phil Forte scored 24 points and Jeffrey Carroll had 21 points and seven rebounds for Oklahoma State (10-6, 0-4). The Cowboys lost their fourth straight and coach Brad Underwood remains stuck at 99 career wins.

Forte's 3-pointer with 9:19 remaining put Oklahoma State ahead 67-62, but the Cyclones responded with a 17-4 run over the next six minutes, with eight consecutive points from Morris, to seize control.

BIG PICTURE

Iowa State: Coming off a nine-point win over Texas, Iowa State looked strong early, endured a mid-game lull in which it allowed Oklahoma State to get back in the game, then surged to regain control over the final 10 minutes. Morris, Thomas and Mitrou-Long each had stretches where they appeared unstoppable. Morris, who had 22 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the Cyclones' 79-70 win over Texas on Saturday, has been particularly impressive lately.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys displayed impressive resilience bouncing back from an 11-point first half deficit to make it competitive, going ahead by as much as five late in the second half. But OSU was unable to close the deal and needs to demonstrate better consistency. After losing their previous two games by a combined seven points, including a 61-57 loss to No. 2 Baylor, this team has the talent, it just needs to put it all together for a full game