NCAA News Wire
Iowa State 85, North Carolina 83
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
SAN ANTONIO — Iowa State is beaten up, but the Cyclones aren’t going away.
Guard DeAndre Kane went into the lane and threw in a floater off the glass for the game-winning basket with 1.6 seconds left, sending third-seeded Iowa State past sixth-seeded North Carolina 85-83 Sunday in the third round of the NCAA Tournament at the AT&T Center.
The Cyclones (28-7) advance to play seventh-seeded Connecticut in the East Regional semifinals Friday in New York.
Iowa State was playing without sophomore forward Georges Niang, who broke his right foot in the Cyclones’ NCAA opener.
Iowa State erased North Carolina’s eight-point lead in the final four minutes. Cyclones forward Melvin Ejim came up with a steal and threw a down-court pass to Kane for the go-ahead basket with 27 seconds left.
North Carolina forward James Michael McAdoo tied it by sinking two free throws with 16 seconds left, setting up the final sequence.
Kane, who limped for much of the second half after landing hard on his hip, took the ball and the game on his shoulders. He finished with a game-high 24 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Following Kane’s game-winner, North Carolina attempted to inbound the ball and get past midcourt before calling timeout. However, the officials ruled time expired by the timeout was signaled, allowing the Cyclones to celebrate.
Iowa State led by nine points in the first half and seven in the second half, but the Tar Heels wouldn’t let the Cyclones run away with it.
When Iowa State gained a 48-41 advantage with 16:14 left, North Carolina answered with an 11-4 run that included a dunk by forward J.P. Tokoto and a 3-pointer by forward Leslie McDonald to tie it at 52.
The Tar Heels then reeled off a 10-0 run that guard Marcus Paige capped for a 66-60 lead with 8:22 left.
North Carolina, which scored 16 second-chance points and 40 points in the paint, used put backs by forwards McAdoo and forward Kennedy Meeks to take an eight-point lead with 5:27 to play.
Paige led the Tar Heels (24-10) with 19 points. McDonald scored 18, Meeks had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and McAdoo scored 14.
Iowa State’s 10-2 run midway through the first half gave the Cyclones a 35-26 lead with 5:20 left before halftime. Cyclones guard Monte Morris and Ejim ignited the surge with back-to-back 3-pointers.
Iowa State missed an opportunity to extend the run when Morris failed to finish on two straight drives to the basket.
Kane led Iowa State with 15 points and eight rebounds in the first half. North Carolina stayed close behind McDonald, who hit two 3-pointers and scored 12 points in the first 20 minutes.
Iowa State led 40-37 at halftime.
NOTES: North Carolina fell to 3-1 all time against Iowa State. The two programs last met in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2005 with the Tar Heels winning 92-65. North Carolina went on to win the national championship that season. … North Carolina received a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history. On each occasion, the sixth-seeded Tar Heels won their opening game and then lost in the next round, falling to Texas in 2004, Texas Tech in 1996 and Iowa State in 2014. … Iowa State fell to 3-17 all time against teams from the ACC.
