AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State men’s basketball team (2-5 overall, 0-3 Big 12) fell 76-65 to No. 2 Baylor (9-0, 2-0 Big 12) on Saturday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones battled hard against unbeaten Baylor, but were undone by a 13-0 BU run in the second half to pull the Bears to victory.
ISU’s Javan Johnson scored a team-high 17 points in an efficient offensive outing, shooting 7-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Solomon Young (15), Rasir Bolton (14) and Jalen Coleman-Lands (12) joined Johnson in double figures. Bolton added eight rebounds and six assists, both team-highs.
The Cyclones were strong out of the gates against the second-ranked Bears, boosted by a strong first half from senior Solomon Young. The native of Sacramento, Calif. scored six of Iowa State’s first nine points to open the game. Young’s third bucket of the game, a jumper in the paint, started an 11-3 Cyclone run that would allow the Cardinal & Gold to go in front for the first time. Back-to-back buckets by Javan Johnson and George Conditt IV put Iowa State in front 23-30 with 9:38 to play in the half.
Baylor responded with a 7-0 run of its own to regain control at 27-23. Young scored five of ISU’s final nine points of the half, but the Bears held a 36-32 advantage at the intermission. Young had a game-high 11 points at the break. The Cyclones shot 54.5 percent from the field, and 3-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc, in the first half.
The second half was a game of runs and momentum swings between the Cyclones and Bears. Baylor made back-to-back triples as part of an 8-0 run to go ahead 44-34 less than two minutes into the half. Iowa State responded moments later with a 13-2 spurt, including six points in the stretch by Rasir Bolton, to take a 50-49 lead with 11:24 to play.
Javan Johnson, who scored 12 of his team-high 17 points in the second half, then knocked down a baseline jumper followed by a 3-pointer as the Cyclones led 55-53 with 10:05 remaining. The Bears then went on a decisive 13-0 run over the next 4:31 of game time.
Jared Butler, who scored a game-high 21, brought the Bears home, scoring nine of the team’s last 13 points to hold off the Cyclones for a 76-65 BU win.
Iowa State returns to action on Tuesday at 7 p.m. vs. No. 8 Texas in Austin.
