MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) Monte Morris scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, Gorges Niang continued his form at Bramlage Coliseum with 15 points, and No. 17 Iowa State kept Kansas State at arm's length in a 76-63 victory Saturday.
The win snapped a two-game skid for the Cyclones (13-4, 2-3 Big 12) after close losses to Texas and No. 22 Baylor, and prevented Iowa State's first 1-4 league start since 2010-11.
Niang entered Saturday's game averaging 14.7 points in seven games against at Bramlage Coliseum.
Abdel Nader added 14 points and Matt Thomas had 11 for Iowa State, which shot 50.9 percent from the field - meeting its season average of 50.2. Three players finished with at least six rebounds.
First-year Iowa State coach Steve Prohm used a timeout with 9:35 play to spark a 7-0 run after Kansas State cut a double-digit lead to 50-45 on a basket by Justin Edwards.
Edwards scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Kansas State (11-6, 1-4).
Three times, Kansas State pushed back but couldn't any closer than 66-59 with 3:12 remaining on a 3-pointer by Kamau Stokes. The Wildcats cooled off after hitting 10 3-pointers against Texas Tech on Tuesday, completing just 4 of 21 attempts from beyond the arc.
The first half had the makings of a blowout. A 7-minute scoring drought for Kansas State allowed the visitors to take a double-digit lead. The Wildcats were 1 of 15 from the field during the spell and turned the ball over four times. At one point, Kansas State scored three points on 19 possessions.
Morris scored with 5:09 remaining in the half to make it 26-9. D.J. Johnson responded for the Wildcats with a tough layup inside that started a 14-6 run to cut the deficit to 32-23 by halftime.
TIP-INS
Iowa State: Backup guard Hallice Cooke did not make the trip due to a suspension that is a non-legal issue.
Kansas State: Barry Brown had scored 15 or more points in every Big 12 game, but was held to four on 1-of-10 shooting Saturday.
UP NEXT
Iowa State hosts No. 2 Oklahoma on Monday.
Kansas State is at No. 22 Baylor on Wednesday.
