University of Missouri
Iowa State
Tigers Fall To Iowa State, 70-65
1/7/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By CHUCK SCHOFFNER
AP Sports Writer
AMES, Iowa - Freshman Curtis Stinson hit a spinning shot in the lane to put Iowa State ahead with 38.5 seconds left and the Cyclones went on to beat Missouri 70-65 on Wednesday night.
Stinson, who scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, helped Iowa State (8-2) build a 12-point lead in the Big 12 opener, then led the Cyclones back after Missouri (5-5) went up by seven.
Missouri pulled ahead 65-64 on Rickey Paulding's two free throws with 2:06 remaining and the Tigers had a chance to expand their lead after a traveling call negated a basket by Iowa State's Jared Homan at the 1:36 mark.
But Paulding missed a 3-point shot and Iowa State capitalized. Stinson, a 6-foot-2 guard, drove into the lane, spun and put up a soft shot that dropped through the basket.
Will Blalock, Iowa State's other freshman guard, then picked off a Paulding pass and Missouri had to foul Jake Sullivan, who hasn't missed a free throw all season. Sullivan made two with 17.1 seconds left for a 68-65 lead and Homan sank two more to finish it off after Paulding missed another 3-point attempt.
Blalock, Sullivan and Homan all finished with 11 points, with Blalock adding five assists and four steals.
Thomas Gardner led Missouri with 17 points and had the Tigers' last field goal, a 3-pointer with 5:47 remaining. Paulding scored 15 and Arthur Johnson had 10.
The game reflected Missouri's up-and-down season. The Tigers seemed to have righted themselves in a 20-point victory over Iowa last Saturday and seized the momentum Wednesday night with a 23-5 run that erased a 12-point Iowa State lead.
Gardner's final 3 gave the Tigers a 63-56 lead, but Iowa State came right back. Stinson scored six straight points and Homan followed with a jumper in an 8-0 burst that put Iowa State up 64-63 with 3:14 remaining. Paulding then hit his two free throws to give Missouri its final lead.
