DES MOINES - For the first time in four years, Iowa State was able to enjoy its short ride up I-35 after facing Drake.
They were certainly riding high after Tuesday night's game.
Lucca Staiger poured in a school-record 10 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 32 points, Craig Brackins added 22 and the Cyclones held Drake's Josh Young scoreless in the second half in a 90-70 rout at the Knapp Center.
"It's nice to get a win on the road. When I sat here two years ago, I was in a much different mood than I am now," said ISU head coach Greg McDermott, alluding to the 35-point beatdown his team took when they last visited Drake in 2007.
"It feels real good. I was here my freshman year when we came here and just got humiliated," said Brackins of his 2007 experience. "It felt good getting them back."
Staiger made 10-of-16 shots from three and attempted just one shot inside the arc - which he made. The Cyclones made 14 3-pointers as a team and shot 61 percent from downtown on the night.
"The gameplan was to make Brackins play against two people as opposed to one of our thinner, younger front-court players. They were able to spray the ball around and get threes," said Drake head coach Mark Phelps. "They had a lot of weapons working tonight. Staiger was amazing. They had a lot of things working tonight."
Staiger was hot right from the get-go, hitting all four of his first-half trifectas in the game's first 6 minutes. He connected from 3 on three straight possessions for the Cyclones early in the first half against Drake's zone defense. The majority of Staiger's treys came from along the baseline - a vulnerable spot against Drake's brand of defense.
"He makes things look pretty easy against the defense that Drake plays," noted McDermott.
The Bulldogs were handicapped offensively because of a less-than-full-strength Young. The senior, who has averaged over 15 points per game the past two seasons, missed Drake's opener due to a hip pointer and hadn't practice in nearly a week. He had 11 points in the first half before going 0-for-3 from the floor in the second 20-minute frame. He also didn't attempt a free throw in the second half. He finished the night with 11 points and two assists.
"As much as we need (Young's) basketball talent and scoring ability, we need his leadership even more so," said Phelps. "It was nice to have him out there."
With Young struggling to light up the scoreboard, freshman Ben Simons carried the offensive load for Drake. Last year's runner-up for Mr. Basketball honors in Michigan registered 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-6 from deep.
"We knew Ben was a really good player, we celebrated when we signed him. We know he's going to be a very good player for us," said Phelps. "He doesn't just score, he knows how to play. He's right at home in big games. He was like that in high school and it looks like that's carried over."
The Cyclones controlled most of the game, leading by nearly 20 points for most of the contest. Drake used three straight 3-pointers midway through the second half to go on a 9-0 run which cut the lead to 13, prompting an ISU timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, Staiger made yet another 3-pointer from the corner to silence the Bulldog faithful and regain control of the game for good.
"I felt like they left (Staiger) open a lot," said Brackins, who finished with a double-double on the strength of 10 rebounds. "They were so worried about me, so I was like 'If they're going to keep worrying about me and double me, we're going to make them pay for it.'
"And that's what happened."
After a three games in five days stretch, the Cyclones are off until they host Mississippi Valley State on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Drake travels to Daytona Beach, Fla. to begin play in the Glenn Wilkes Classic. They'll play Georgia State on Friday, Akron on Saturday and Central Florida on Sunday.
