KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Georges Niang walked off the floor in the closing minutes with a bloody towel pressed tightly to his forehead, pumping his fist and riling up the Iowa State fans in the Sprint Center. Turns out he was just jumpstarting the celebration. Niang scored 25 points before leaving with that gash above his right eye, and the No. 16 Cyclones held on down the stretch to beat No. 10 Kansas 94-83 Friday night and reach their first Big 12 tournament title game since 2000. "We love competing for championships," Niang said later, a bandage over his wound. "Coach says take it one day at a time, but the Big 12 championship is one day away from us." DeAndre Kane had five 3-pointers and scored 20 points, and Big 12 player of the year Melvin Ejim added 19 points for the fourth-seeded Cyclones (25-8), who will play for just their second tournament title Saturday night against the winner of Texas-Baylor. The victory for Iowa State represented its first in four tries against Kansas in the Big 12 tournament, and its first over the Jayhawks in Kansas City since March 10, 1996, when the schools were still part of the Big Eight. It also allowed Iowa State to match its 2001 team for the second-most wins in school history, trailing only the 32 wins piled up by the 2000 team. Incidentally, it was that team that won the Cyclones only Big 12 tournament title. "Its a great win for us, for the fact it gives us confidence we can compete with anyone in the nation," Cyclones coach Fred Hoiberg said. "It was good to finally get one of these after struggling to close out games against Kansas the past few years." Relying on some hot outside shooting, Iowa State took charge in the second half, and then held on as the top-seeded Jayhawks (24-9) tried to make a late run to get back into the game. Perry Ellis led Kansas with 30 points. Andrew Wiggins finished with 22. The Jayhawks again were playing without 7-footer Joel Embiid, the leagues defensive player of the year, and his rim-protecting presence was sorely missed. The freshman has a stress fracture in his back and is likely out until at least the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. "Joel not being in there, he could probably guard Niang better," Kansas coach Bill Self said, "but I think it was more a collection of everybody rather than just one individual." The Sprint Center was packed to the rafters with fans eager to see whether Iowa State could finally end its five-game losing streak against the Jayhawks, or whether Kansas could burnish what it hoped would be a resume worthy of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The teams got after it right from the tip, racing up and down the floor in what amounted to a series of 94-foot wind sprints. Iowa State got the better of it early, forging a 23-16 lead, but the Jayhawks countered with a brutally efficient 20-3 charge to take control. Things got so intense that the normally placid Hoiberg was rung up with a technical foul after Kane appeared to be hammered on the way to the basket and no foul was called. "I used a bad word," Hoiberg said sheepishly. "Im not going to say I didnt." The Jayhawks lead was also short-lived. Kane started the comeback by converting a three-point play, Ejim and Niang went to work inside, and the Cyclones tied it 46-all in the closing minutes of the first half when Kane knocked down another shot from the corner. Their hot perimeter shooting continued in the second half, when the Cyclones turned a 48-46 deficit into a 66-57 lead, the last points in the run on a deep ball from Naz Long. By that point, Iowa State was 11 of 16 from the 3-point line. "We were on our heels defensively throughout the game," Ellis said. "I felt in the first half we did a lot better. In the second half, we let too many straight-line drives to the basket." The Jayhawks eventually extended their defence to the perimeter, and thats when Iowa State started going to the basket again. Niang scored four straight baskets for Iowa State during one stretch that made it 81-72, and scored on three straight trips to make it 86-74. The lead never got much smaller, even after Niang was whacked in the face during a scrum under the basket, prompting him to start the party for the Iowa State fans in attendance. "We felt like we had these guys in the second half," Niang said. "We came out and threw the first punch and from there it was clear skies."
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Brice McCain Jersey .com) - Bradley Beals 22 points and seven rebounds helped the Washington Wizards erase a halftime deficit and top the Utah Jazz, 93-84, on Sunday. SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs have maintained that records and winning streaks do not matter as much as staying healthy and becoming consistent on offence and defence. The consistency has been there, but the Spurs are once again dealing with an injury. Kawhi Leonard matched his career high with 26 points, Manu Ginobili had a season-high 26 and San Antonio eased to a 112-92 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday after losing Tony Parker to injury. Parkers status is unknown after he was forced to leave with back spasms early in the first quarter. "Theyre going to MRI his back tomorrow," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Im not a doctor, I dont know." The All-Star point guard took a hard fall as he drove the lane, landing squarely on his back near the free throw line after being fouled by Memphis Mike Conley with 7:38 left. Parker remained on the court for about a minute, but rose and continued playing before exiting with2:41 remaining in the first. Tim Duncan added 13 points for San Antonio (60-17), which bounced back after its franchise-record, 19-game winning streak was snapped Thursday in Oklahoma City. San Antonio reduced its magic number to claim the leagues best record to three while winning at least 60 games for the fifth time in franchise history. "Wins are wins, but all of us want to be the last team standing," Popovich said. "Thats all thats really important to about six, or seven, or eight teams." The Spurs showed their focus heading into the final two weeks of the regular season, capturing their 20th double-digit victory since Feb. 26. "Youve got these guys (in) San Antonio that are in the playoffs for sure, but are playing like theyre out of it," Grizzlies forward James Johnson said. Johnson had 20 points and Conley added 18 points for Memphis (45-32), which is chasing a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol shot a combined 6 for 16, finishing with eight and six points, respectively. Parker finished with 10 points, going 4 for 4 from the field with an assist in nine minutes. He waved for team physician Dr. Paul Saenz as he walked through the tunnel to go back to the locker room. San Antonio general manager R.C. Buford soon followed. Parker has missed 10 games this season, including sitting out the Spurs game Feb. 6 in Brooklyn with tightness in his lower back.dddddddddddd He has battled various leg injuries this season, but also sat out seven games due to what was listed as "rest." "Hopefully its nothing," Ginobili said. "He was just sore in his lower back. We just have to hope its a couple-of-days thing. Of course, were a different team without him. We need him healthy and strong for the playoffs." Leonard took over offensively with Parker out, showing off his expanding offensive game with a series of driving layups, pull-up jumpers and going 2 for 2 on 3-pointers. The 6-foot-7, third-year forward was 12 for 13 from the field. "(Hes) a lot more confident behind the arc and his pull-up," Spurs wing Danny Green said. "And when hes making shots, it makes us that much more dangerous as a team." Leonards 3-pointer with 5:53 remaining in the game matched the career-high 26 points he set against Chicago on Feb. 11, 2013. He left the game after the 3-pointer. "I just made shots tonight, I didnt really miss," Leonard said. "As of lately, Im just knocking down shots. My teammates are looking for me. Im just going out there and having good results. Even with Parker out, San Antonio continued its fluid ball movement. The Spurs had 27 assists, with four players finishing with at least four and all but one of 13 who played picking up an assist. Parker was extremely active during his short night, helping the team overcome a lethargic start. After San Antonio missed its first two shots, Parker drove the lane for one of his teardrop shots, worked his way through screens for 21- and 17-foot jumpers and made a pair of free throws as part of a 12-2 opening run for San Antonio. Parker later drove left into the lane, spinning away from Conley and between a closing Randolph to scoop in a layup with 5 minutes left in the first quarter. NOTES: San Antonio has three games remaining away from the AT&T Center, but has already secured the leagues best road record. The Spurs are 29-9 entering a two-game road trip that begins Tuesday in Minnesota and ends Thursday at Dallas. Their final road game is April 14 against Houston. . Randolph received the loudest boos among Memphis starters during pregame introductions, as San Antonio fans apparently still remember the bruising post-season battles between the two clubs.
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