National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Iowa St. 113, Savannah State 71
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, November 11, 2016
Where: James H. Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa
Officials: # Tom Eades, # Craig Murley, # Bret Smith
Attendance: 14384
By The Sports Xchange

Preseason All-America pick Monte Morris certainly looked the part on the opening night of the college basketball season.

Morris worked over outmatched Savannah State for a 21-point, 11-assist double-double as No. 24 Iowa State rolled to a 113-71 win at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.

Playing 26 minutes, the senior point guard connected on 9-of-11 field goals, including 2-of-3 3-pointers, and added three steals while committing no turnovers. He was one of five Cyclones in extra digits.

Senior guard Nazareth Mitrou-Long stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in just 24 minutes. Matt Thomas added 14 points, while graduate transfer forward Merrill Holden chipped in 12 points and eight boards. Freshman Solomon Young came off the bench to net 11 points, hitting all five of his shots.

Junior college transfer Joshua Floyd tallied 12 points to lead the Tigers, while Jahir Cabeza, Dexter McClanahan and Zach Seller each scored 10. Savannah State got just seven points from its starting lineup in the first half, none by last season’s leading scorer, guard Troyce Manassa. He failed to score in 19 minutes, missing all six of his shots.

Iowa State led 59-38 at halftime and stretched the lead to 43 points twice late in the second half.

NOTES: Friday night’s game marked the 21st time in the last 22 seasons that Iowa State opened at home. The one exception was last season, when it bumped off Colorado 68-62 in Sioux Falls, S.D. … The Cyclones opened the season by being ranked in the first Associated Press Top 25 poll for a 57th straight ranking period, the third-longest active streak in Division I behind only Kansas and Arizona. … Savannah State is ineligible for postseason play in 2016-17 due to low APR scores.
Top Game Performances
 
Savannah State   Iowa St.
Joshua Floyd 12 Scoring Monte Morris 21
Joshua Floyd 4 Assists Monte Morris 11
Jordan Gaines 6 Rebounds Darrell Bowie 10
Jahir Cabeza 2 Free Throws Made Darrell Bowie 2
Jahir Cabeza 4 Steals Monte Morris 3
Jahir Cabeza 2 Blocks Deonte Burton 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Savannah State 71 32.9 13-48 8-16 20 33 2 12 22
Iowa St. 113 55.3 8-26 11-20 31 60 4 11 20