Iowa State improved to 9-0 with a 79-67 win over George Mason at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu. The Cyclones overcame cold shooting from the perimeter in which they made only five of 21 from three point range. “We weren’t making shots, in the first half especially. I thought we did a really good job of attacking that zone inside in the second half and made them come out of the zone,” Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg. Hoiberg says it took some time for them to get their shot back after the long trip.
Georges Niang led ISU with 22 points. Hoiberg says they wanted to get Niang established early in the paint. Balanced scoring was a key once again. Duston Hogue had 17 points, Melvin Ejim had 14 to go along with 11 rebounds and senior guard DeAndre Kane added 13 points.
Kane says they tried to go inside when the perimeter shots we not falling. He says they were 5-21 from three point range, but they kept fighting and their rebounding kept them in the game. Kane says it was a good way to open the tournament. The Cyclones advance to this afternoons semifinals.