Iowa State went into the Emerald Coast Classic hoping to get a second chance against Alabama-Birmingham, who knocked the Cyclones out of the NCAA Tournament one year ago.

While they didn’t get their shot at revenge, they did leave Niceville, Fla., victorious.

After beating Virginia Tech in the first round on Friday, No. 4 Iowa State (5-0, 0-0 Big 12) defeated Illinois (3-4, 0-0 Big 10) 84-73 in the tournament championship Saturday.

“I thought it was a heck of a game for 30 to 32 minutes,” Illinois coach John Groce told the Des Moines Register. “[It was] like an NCAA Tournament game in March that’s played in a great environment. I felt like it was a heavyweight boxing match, but the last eight to nine minutes, they imposed their will, and that was the difference in the game.”

The Cyclones once again started out slow, shooting just 2-for-8 from the field early. They recovered quickly, though, thanks to a perfect 3-for-3 shooting from Matt Thomas in the first half and his addition of five straight points to give the Cyclones the lead.

Illinois found a lapse in the ISU defense in the closing minutes of the first half, however, ending the opening period on a 10-3 run. Iowa State headed into the locker room up just one, 40-39.

“We just couldn’t guard them,” said ISU coach Steve Prohm. “They were really playing four guards, basically five guards. We were going bucket for bucket, and we were big. We needed to get to where we were small, and see if we could do a better job guarding them.”

Illinois kept things close with the Cyclones coming out of the break, still going shot for shot with Iowa State. But an 18-4 run spanning nearly eight minutes boosted the Cyclones’ lead to 13 with less than four minutes left in the game.

The run came with one of the smallest lineups the Cyclones have used all season, with 6-foot-9 center Jameel McKay on the bench.

“I’m not even sure if it was the lineup,” Georges Niang told the Ames Tribune. “Monté was doing a great job of getting in the lane, making plays and guys were feeding off that … I think everybody was just feeding off how Monté was playing. He was making big-time plays, and that’s what big-time players do.” 

From there, the Cyclones rode out the run, giving them the 84-73 win and the tournament championship.

Niang led the Cyclones with 23 points and eight rebounds Saturday, and Abdel Nader finished with 18 points and five rebounds.

It was Monté Morris, though, who perhaps had the biggest impact on the game, finishing with 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Morris, who was named the tournament’s MVP, didn’t commit a single turnover in his 37 minutes of play.

“Point guards come from heaven” Prohm said. “I think [former NBA coach] Flip Saunders [said that]. Monté was awesome tonight.”

While it’s not the most common lineup, Prohm said the smaller lineup was the key to eventually outplaying the Illini on Saturday night. 

And as he goes forward leading the Cyclones, Prohm knows that situations like this will arise again — and it’s his job to maneuver the team through them.

“You just got to figure it out as you go,” Prohm said. “I’m learning this team as I go both offensively and defensively. It’s good to learn through winning.”