Short bench and turnovers hamper Cyclones in Spain

Uncharacteristic turnovers and a shortened bench held back the Iowa State men’s basketball team in their first game on their trip to Spain. The Cyclones lost 82-77 to the Venezuelan National Team in Madrid on Wednesday afternoon.

ISU led 20-2 with just over four minutes to play in the first period, but the Venezuelans were able to close the quarter on a 12-3 run. The Cyclones would go on to hold a 36-31 advantage at halftime.

Venezuela then knocked down four of their first five shots in the third period, including three 3-pointers to take the lead and never look back.

Monte Morris led the way for the Cyclones with 21 points, eight assists, four rebounds and four steals. Georges Niang and Matt Thomas added 14 points a piece, while Abdel Nader scored 13 to round out the double-figures scorers.  

The Cyclones kept the game close despite Morris, Niang and Hallice Cooke fouling out, battling back within three in the final minute.

Iowa State finished the game with 20 turnovers, while shooting 49.1 percent from the floor and 10-of-21 from behind the arc.

Steve Prohm’s squad will be back in action on Friday when they take on the Valencia All-Stars at 12:30 p.m. central time.