AMES, Iowa (AP) — Freshman Lindell Wigginton poured in a season-high 28 points and Iowa State rallied to beat Northern Illinois 94-80 on Monday night for its fifth straight win.
Senior Donovan Jackson added 24 points with six 3-pointers and Nick Weiler-Babb had 12 points and 11 assists for the Cyclones (5-2), who overcame depth issues to outscore the Huskies 58-42 in the second half.
Iowa State certainly looked rusty after a nine-day layoff, falling behind 38-36 at halftime after letting the Huskies hit 17 of their first 31 shots.
But the Cyclones opened the second half on a 26-11 run, with Wigginton hitting an off-balance 3 to push Iowa State’s lead to 10. Jackson followed with a 3 that made it 62-49.
Wigginton then jumped a passing lane at the top of the key and cruised down court for a two-handed dunk and followed with an assist on a Cameron Lard dunk, pushing the Cyclones lead to 70-51.
Reserves Jakolby Long (concussion) and Zoran Talley (bruised foot) sat out with injuries, leaving Iowa State with just eight available players. Long and Talley are day-to-day according to the Cyclones.
Eugene German had 28 points for the Huskies (5-4).
