Niang, Dejean-Jones score 18 points apiece, No. 14 Iowa State beats Southern 88-78

AMES, Iowa — Georges Niang and Bryce Dejean-Jones each scored 18 points and 14th-ranked Iowa State held off Southern 88-76 on Sunday night for its fifth straight victory.

Monte Morris had 15 points and five assists for Iowa State (8-1). The Cyclones led by 27 before a late Southern run.

Iowa State shook off a sluggish start with an 18-0 run late in the first half and early in the second. The Cyclones went ahead 53-35 on Naz Long's layup with 16:13 left, and hung on for their 26th straight nonconference home victory.

Tre Lynch scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half to lead Southern (2-8). Iowa State outscored the Jaguars 41-8 during one stretch.

Dejean-Jones missed Friday night's 90-75 blowout at rival Iowa. He was suspended for one game by coach Fred Hoiberg after being arrested early Thursday on three charges, including a marijuana charge that was quickly dismissed and a pair of noise violations that remain pending.

Early on, Dejean-Jones and the rest of the Cyclones looked like a team suffering from a letdown after Friday's excitement.

Iowa State was given a technical foul for dunking in warmups and fell behind 2-0 before the opening tip. The Jaguars pushed their lead to as much as 29-21 midway through the first half, and Adrian Rodgers had 15 points in just under 12 minutes.

Long had 13 points for the Cyclones, who held Rodgers to just two points in the second half.

TIP-INS

Iowa State: The Cyclones, who entered play averaging 10.5 3s per game, missed their first seven from beyond the arc. Niang broke the cold stretch late in the first half, and then had a dunk that put Iowa State up 40-35. Iowa State was just 3 of 17 from 3-point range though.

Southern: Rodgers had 18 points in Southern's last game, an 85-57 loss at Minnesota. The Jaguars actually had more baskets than Iowa State, 29-28.

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