AMES, Iowa (AP)—Jackson Vroman scored 18 points and Iowa State roared back after an early five-minute scoring drought to beat Idaho State 73-47 Saturday night and win the Cyclone Challenge.
Jake Sullivan added 15 points and Jared Homan 10 for Iowa State (4-0), which won its own tournament for the eighth time in nine years. But the Cyclones didn’t take control until after a stretch of cold shooting left fans squirming in their seats.
Idaho State (3-3) scored 10 straight points to open a 14-10 lead, and the Bengals were up 20-19 after Maurice Poole scored in the lane with 5:53 left in the half. That’s when Iowa State began to assert itself.
Sullivan sank two free throws and hit a 3-pointer as Iowa State closed the half with a 14-2 run to take a 33-22 lead. Vroman, who was 8-for-9 from the field, scored six straight points in a 20-4 run early in the second half that stretched the lead to 53-28.
During a 12-second span in that run, Vroman bounced a pass behind his back to Curtis Stinson cutting along the baseline, took a return pass from Stinson and made a layup, then stole the ball at midcourt and went in for a dunk.
Later, Idaho State went 5:19 without scoring while Iowa State ran off 12 straight points. Vroman scored on a lob from Marcus Jefferson and converted a three-point play during that spurt.
Poole led Idaho State with 13 points. The Bengals shot only 31 percent and were outrebounded 50-36.
Will Blalock had nine points, nine rebounds and three assists for Iowa State. Vroman grabbed eight rebounds and made three steals.