Iowa State senior forward Dedric Willoughby started where he left off against Kansas, scoring 29 points, 22 in the first half, to lead the Cyclones over the Missouri Tigers by a score of 87-59.

“We obviously were pleased with that win. The turning point was when Pratt picked up his third foul in the first half and we went primarily to Dedric Willoughby and he made everything he shot at the end of the second half. I think it’s safe to assume he’s healthy again,” Floyd said.

Despite Willoughby making all five of his three-point attempts in the first half, including a 30-footer at the buzzer, Missouri hung within striking range, going to the break with a 38-27 score.

“He got that last one, with 11 seconds left, on his own. That is so encouraging for us to see him perform like that.

“We know what a player he is and we don’t think he deserves to be going through some of the things he’s had to go through this season,” Floyd said.

For Willoughby, the first half was an unusual shooting performance in more than one way.

Although Willoughby was golden from beyond the arc, he managed to make only one of four attempts from the charity stripe in the first half and five of 10 for the game. Willoughby is shooting 87 percent for the season from the free throw line.

ISU senior forward Kenny Pratt, who finished the game with 12 points and nine rebounds, also played with the same type of flare for which he is known by racking up eight points and four rebounds in the first half, primarily off missed attempts by his teammates.

Another added interest to the first half was the barrage of fouls called against ISU that repeatedly brought ISU Head Basketball Coach Tim Floyd and the near sellout crowd to its feet in protest.

The second half wasn’t much different except for the spread out scoring.

The Cyclones’ first possession of the half began with an alley-oop from 35 feet away to Kelvin Cato via Jacy Holloway. Holloway then came back down and nailed a three-pointer from the corner.

“He (Cato) was a real key in the game. I know he didn’t score a lot of points, but his blocks and his defensive play were a big part of the win,” Floyd said.

The lead was built to 45-27 with 17:22 showing on the clock as Willoughby collected an assist to senior forward Shawn Bankhead.

But it wasn’t long before Missouri clawed back into it with a Jason Sutherland three-pointer.

A couple of three-point buckets by Dibi Ray brought the score to 52-40 with 13:21 left in regulation.

That was as close as Missouri got.

ISU, with a solid defensive effort and consistent offensive play pulled away, built a solid lead of 73-53 with 3:33 left to play.

Another bright spot for the Cyclones was the play of true freshman forward Stevie Johnson. Johnson finished the game with 11 points and two rebounds.

“Defensively Stevie played a lot better. We are very pleased with him,” Floyd said. The icing on the cake came with 1:08 left in the game when crowd favorite Ha-Keem “The Dream” Abdel-Khaliq hit a three-pointer to bring the fans and his teammates to their feet.

“That was great. The guys just love him. All I can say is that his career mirrors mine,” Floyd said with a grin.

When the final buzzer sounded, the blowout was official. Iowa State had ousted the Tigers by a score of 87-59.