Iowa State (5-0) vs. Lake Superior State (1-2)

[Jeremy]

Iowa State (5-0) vs. Lake Superior State (1-2)
Media Relations

Nov. 25, 2006 • 7 p.m. • Hilton Coliseum (14,092) • CRN/Mediacom
Cyclone Radio Network: John Walters (pxp), Eric Heft (color)
Television: Mediacom; B.J Schaben (pxp), Jim Hallihan (color)

Cyclone Gameday

Iowa State (5-0) plays host to Lake Superior State (1-2) on Saturday...ISU head coach Greg McDermott will celebrate his 42nd birthday Saturday...Jiri Hubalek and Dustin Streff are also celebrating birthdays on the same day...the Cyclones are still unbeaten after a 68-63 win at Minnesota Tuesday night...Saturday’s contest will be the final game of Jiri Hubalek’s six-game suspension...he will be back in action for the Nov. 29 game at Northern Iowa when McDermott makes his return to his former school...McDermott is just the second coach in school history to win his first five games at the helm...Wayne Morgan won his first seven games as head coach in 2003-04.

Cyclone-Laker Quick Facts

This will be the first meeting between Lake Superior State and Iowa State...ISU head coach Greg McDermott is 1-0 lifetime vs. the Lakers, defeating LSSU, 92-80 when he was the head coach at Wayne State...Lake Superior State is coached by Mike Fitzner, who is in his fourth season as head coach...Fitzner played for McDermott when he was an assistant at North Dakota...he then transferred to Wayne State, following McDermott in his first head coaching job...while a player at Wayne State, Fitzner broke the school-record for 3-pointers in a game with 11...ISU graduate manager Eric Henderson was a teammate of Fitzner’s at WSC...Fitzner spent two seasons as a grad assistant for McDermott at WSC after his playing career ended...he was an assistant coach at LSSU for five years under McDermott’s younger brother, Marty...Marty is now the head coach at the University of Dubuque.

Cyclone Update

Iowa State remains unbeaten (5-0) after a 68-63 win at Minnesota Tuesday night..it was ISU’s fourth win in a row against the Gophers...the Cyclones road the hot hand of Mike Taylor, who scored a career-high 33 points, including 25 in the second half...Taylor went 9-of-14 from the floor in the second period, featuring a 6-of-9 effort from beyond the arc...22 of his 33 points came in the final 10 minutes of the game...Taylor’s six treys was the most for a Cyclone since Jake Sullivan made seven against Nebraska in 2004...it ties for the eighth-best single-game 3-point shooting performance in ISU history...his 33 points ties the school record for most points scored by a first-year Cyclone player (Art Johnson- 33 vs. Colorado, Dec. 27, 1974; Aaron Jenkins- 33 vs. Nebraska, Jan. 25, 1969)...as a team, ISU poured in eight of its season-high nine treys after halftime...ISU overcame a 10-point second half deficit and went on a crucial 12-0 run late in the game to take control...ISU was down 58-53 with less than four minutes remaining...Taylor started the run with a driving layup followed by a key 3-pointer by Jessan Gray to even the score...Taylor then gave ISU the lead for good with his sixth 3-pointer of the game...Taylor, who leads the team in scoring at 18.4 ppg, has led ISU in scoring in four of five games this season...Rahshon Clark was instrumental in the win, posting his third career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds...Clark leads the Cyclones in rebounding at 9.6 rpg and has recorded eight or more boards in all five games this season...he played all 40 minutes for just the second time in his career...Gray was solid coming off the bench for the Cyclones, scoring all nine of his points in the second half and registering a career-high seven boards...ISU tied a season-low with just 11 turnovers...it marked just the second time this season where ISU had more assists (15) than turnovers (11).

Lake Superior State (1-2)

Lake Superior State, a Division II school in Sault Sainte Marie, Mich., owns a 1-2 record as it enters Hilton Coliseum for Saturday’s game...LSSU lost to Lewis (75-72) and Wisconsin-Parkside (82-65) before Tuesday’s 82-47 win against Finlandia...LSSU shot 60.3 percent from the field (35-58 FG) and outrebounded Finlandia, 44-28 in its first win of the season...the Lakers have received an outstanding effort in the early season by sophomore forward Ryan Kuhl...a 6-9 native of Rochester, Mich., Kuhl has connected on 86.2 percent of his shots from the field (25-29 FG) and leads the team in scoring at 20.7 ppg...Kuhl, who also leads the team in rebounding (5.3 rpg), was 9-for-12 from the floor en route to game-high 22 points vs. Lewis...he followed that game with an almost near-perfect night vs. Wisconsin-Parkside...Kuhl was 8-of-8 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe against UWP, tallying 23 points...Kuhl is 12-14 (85.7 percent) from the free-throw line this season...sophomore guard Mark Morse is one of LSSU’s top outside threats, averaging 9.3 ppg...Morse, who is shooting 53.3 percent from downtown, was 3-of-5 from 3-point range vs. Lewis...forward Mike Rader is averaging 12.6 points and 4.3 rebounds...the 6-8, Wayland, Mich., native can stretch the defense with his outside shooting...he hit 4-of-8 shots from 3-point range against Lewis.

Happy Birthday, Mac

ISU head coach Greg McDermott celebrates his 42nd birthday Saturday night against Lake Superior State...Jiri Hubalek and Dustin Streff are also celebrating birthdays for the Cyclones...McDermott is 3-3 lifetime as a head coach in games played on his birthday.

[ISUFan22]

So who else is headed up to the game?

[Angie]

Originally Posted by ISUFan22

So who else is headed up to the game?

I'll be there! Amy's coming, too!

[ISUFan22]

I expect some good seating again Saturday too. :)

[AirWalke]

Is this game on any of the students' season tickets? I'm heading back home tomorrow from Oklahoma, and I'm just wondering if it'd be in my best interest to leave early enough to get back to Ames in time for the game.

[dbronco7sc]

as always... I'm there

[aeroclone08]

Originally Posted by AirWalke

Is this game on any of the students' season tickets? I'm heading back home tomorrow from Oklahoma, and I'm just wondering if it'd be in my best interest to leave early enough to get back to Ames in time for the game.

Nope, it's part of the holiday break package.

[CloneFan65]

With the strong connection between McD and the Lake Superior coach, was this game already on the ISU schedule, or did McD add this one after he was hired? It doesn't really matter, just curious.