Cyclones Declaw Fighting Hawks

AMES, Iowa - Martin Rancik scored a season-high 16 points and Paul Shirley had his third career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds as Iowa State beat Maryland-Eastern Shore 81-52 Tuesday night.

Iowa State (11-2) rolled to its eighth straight victory without a big night from Marcus Fizer, whose 12 points were nine below his average.

Fizer, a 67 percent shooter, missed his first three shots and his only first-half basket was a dunk. But Rancik, whose previous best this season had been 15 points, made his first five shots and the Cyclones never trailed against the overmatched Fighting Hawks (3-6).

Michael Nurse added 14 points for Iowa State, which led by 35 before coach Larry Eustachy emptied the bench and sent his walk-ons into the game with 3:11 left. Point guard Jamaal Tinsley had nine assists, five steals, four blocks and six points.

Kevin Wallace led Maryland-Eastern Shore with 21 points. Demetric Reese, the Fighting Hawks' leading scorer with a 20.6 average, made just 3-of-16 shots while being guarded by Nurse and Tinsley and finished with 11 points.

Iowa State struggled early against Maryland-Eastern Shore's 2-3 zone and even the calypso band that filled in for the university's pep band was sluggish in the early going. Both groups eventually picked up the pace.

Leading 22-17, Iowa State finally began breaking the zone down. Brandon Hawkins drew a foul going to the basket and sank two free throws, then drove and hit a jumper in the lane. Nurse scored a drive into the lane and then hit a 3-pointer.

That made it 31-17 with 5:54 left in the opening half. Iowa State closed the half with an 11-2 run, then scored the first seven points of the second half - five by Fizer - to go up 49-24.

Maryland-Eastern Shore missed its first five shots of the second half and turned the ball over four times before Cedric Rashaw's tip-in with 15:10 to play. By then, Iowa State was in complete control.

As Maryland-Eastern Shore tired, Iowa State went on a 9-0 run to stretch its lead to 68-36 with 6:23 to play and the starters were on the bench a short time later.

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Players Mentioned

Marcus Fizer

Marcus Fizer

Brandon Hawkins

Michael Nurse

Michael Nurse

Martin Rancik

Martin Rancik

Paul Shirley

Paul Shirley

Jamaal Tinsley

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