BYU Basketball: Iowa State thumps BYU 83-62

AMES, Iowa — Will Clyburn scored a career-high 32 points and Iowa State snapped a two-game losing streak by beating BYU 83-62.

Melvin Ejim added 13 points for the Cyclones (5-2), who shot 48 percent from the floor in a surprisingly easy victory over the Cougars.

Iowa State took control with a 12-0 run spanning the halves. The Cyclones jumped ahead by as much as 58-41 early in the second half and cruised to their 12th straight home win dating back to last season.

Brandon Davies had 20 points to lead BYU (5-3), which saw its three-game winning streak snapped. The Cougars hit just four 3s in 20 tries.

The Cyclones and Cougars had each dropped their first two games against high majors on neutral floors. Iowa State fell to No. 17 Cincinnati and No. 24 UNLV in Las Vegas, and BYU lost to Florida State and Notre Dame in Brooklyn.

The Cyclones weren't about to drop another one that could prove crucial for the NCAA tournament resume.

Iowa State, which entered play ranked fifth in the nation in rebounding margin at plus-14, grabbed 30 defensive rebounds and shot 20 of 25 from the free-throw line.

But Clyburn was by far the biggest reason why the Cyclones cruised to their best win of the young season.

Clyburn faced BYU twice during his lone season at Utah in 2010-11, averaging 20.5 points per game. It didn't take long for him to heat up in his third crack at the Cougars.

Clyburn hit his first four tries from 3-point range and had 19 points in just 15 minutes as Iowa State broke open a tight game and grabbed a 38-29 lead. He then dunked over 6-foot-11 Nate Austin on an alley-oop — tying his season-high in points in the process — as Cyclones pushed their lead to 48-37 by halftime.

The Cyclones will lean heavily on Clyburn for scoring this season, and the senior has now cracked 20 points twice in a row after scoring 21 in the loss to UNLV.

He capped off the best day of his career with a two-handed slam on the break with 5:18 left, putting Iowa State up 76-57.

Iowa State also held BYU's top scorers, Tyler Haws and Davies, largely in check.

The pair came in averaging a combined 41 points per game. But they each had just seven in the first half as the Cyclones built a double-digit lead they never let up — and Haws finished with just nine points on 4-of-13 shooting.

Matt Carlino had 12 for the Cougars, who host rivals Utah State and Utah next week. BYU also has games against Baylor and Virginia Tech left before the start of West Coast Conference play.

Korie Lucious had 12 points and tied a season high with nine assists for the Cyclones.