Strong second half helps No. 4 Iowa State overcome Illinois
NICEVILLE, Fla. - Georges Niang scored 23 points and helped fourth-ranked Iowa State break open a close game in the second half and beat Illinois 84-73 on Saturday night in the championship game of the Emerald Coast Classic.
Jaylon Tate's layup gave the Illini a 58-57 lead before Iowa State (5-0) went on an 18-4 run to take control. Niang had six points during the spurts, while Monte Morris (20 points, nine rebounds) and Abdel Nader (18 points) had four apiece.
Matt Thomas was also in double figures for the Cyclones with 10.
The Illini scored seven of the game's first nine points and were up 12-6 less than five minutes in. Iowa State started slowly cutting into the lead as the last 12 minutes of the half saw six ties and seven lead changes.
Malcolm Hill led Illinois (3-4) with 20 points while Kendrick Nunn added 19 and Mike Thorne Jr. had 10.