HONOLULU - Georges Niang and Iowa State just keep rolling along. The program’s fastest start is within reach, and it looks as if the Cyclones could take down a few school records this season.
Niang scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half, and No. 14 Iowa State beat Akron 83-60 on Monday in the semifinals of the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii.
“Today was a big game,” Cyclones Coach Fred Hoiberg said.
Iowa State improved to 10-0 for the second time in school history, joining the 1996-1997 team that made it all the way to the Sweet 16. The Cyclones will play South Carolina or Boise State on Wednesday night for the tournament title.
Melvin Ejim had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Iowa State, and Dustin Hogue scored 18 points. DeAndre Kane added 15 points and 11 boards.
Reggie McAdams led Akron (6-3) with 13 points.
Iowa State erased an early eight-point deficit with a 17-3 run. Niang hit a three-pointer right before the buzzer to make it 37-31 at halftime.
Iowa State scored 46 points and shot just over 55 percent in the second half, mostly on layups and dunks. The Cyclones finished with 42 points in the paint.
With eight minutes left, Kane found Ejim under the basket for a dunk that gave the Cyclones a 70-50 lead.
“We were tired, and then mentally we didn’t handle adversity very well,” Akron Coach Keith Dambrot said. “You know, we kind of just died on the vine.”NO. 1 ARIZONA 77, NORTHERN ARIZONA 44
TUCSON, Ariz. - Nick Johnson scored 20 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 14 and top-ranked Arizona rolled over Northern Arizona on Monday night to complete an undefeated nonconference run for the second consecutive season.
Arizona (13-0) played a second game without injured center Kaleb Tarczewski, but took control by outscoring Northern Arizona 27-4 during a decisive first-half run.
The Wildcats held the the Lumberjacks (3-8) to 36 percent shooting while scoring 18 points off 23 turnovers. Arizona has won 27 consecutive nonconference games.
Brandon Ashley had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats, who don’t play again until their Pac-12 opener against Washington State on Jan. 2. SEC MEN TENNESSEE 82, MOREHEAD STATE 67
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Derek Reese had 12 points and 10 rebounds in hisfirst action of the season as Tennessee ended a two-game skid with a victory over Morehead State.
Josh Richardson scored 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds for Tennessee (7-4). Jeronne Maymon added 16 points and eight rebounds. Jarnell Stokes had 13 points and nine rebounds.
Brent Arrington and Angelo Warner scored 16 points each for Morehead State (8-6).
Drew Kelly had 13 points for Morehead State.
BOISE STATE 80, SOUTH CAROLINA 54
HONOLULU - Anthony Drmic scored 30 points to lead Boise State to a victory over South Carolina in a semifinal game in the Diamond Head Classic.
Mikey Thompson added 10 points for Boise State (10-2), which will play No. 14 Iowa State (10-0) in Wednesday’s championship.
Brenton Williams led the Gamecocks (3-6) with 14 points and Duane Notice added 13.
Drmic scored 21 points in the first half and looked to be on pace to match his career high of 34 points.
Sports, Pages 19 on 12/24/2013