AMES, Iowa - Iowa State has become known as one of the nation's top 3-point shooting basketball teams.
The Cyclones finally have found their stroke.
Naz Mitrou-Long scored 24 points, Georges Niang added 19 and fourth-ranked Iowa State beat the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga 83-63 on Monday night.
No. 4 Iowa State 83, UTC 63
UTC (3-1)Pryor 3-7 1-1 8, Tuoyo 4-11 0-0 9, Robertson 1-7 1-2 3, McLean 1-5 1-2 3, Jones 7-12 2-2 16, Ester 2-5 1-2 5, Oldham 2-6 0-0 6, Matthews 0-0 0-0 0, Burroughs-Cook 4-9 0-0 9, Woods 0-1 0-0 0, Bran 0-0 0-0 0, Ethridge 1-2 2-2 4, White 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-65 8-11 63.IOWA STATE (3-0)McKay 4-7 0-2 8, Nader 3-9 0-2 6, Morris 6-12 1-2 14, Mitrou-Long 9-13 0-0 24, Niang 7-13 2-2 19, Carter 0-1 0-0 0, Cooke 2-3 0-0 6, Thomas 2-8 0-0 6, Ashton 0-0 0-0 0, Ernst 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-66 3-8 83.Halftime—Iowa St. 44-29. 3-Point Goals—Chattanooga 5-20 (Oldham 2-4, Pryor 1-2, Burroughs-Cook 1-2, Tuoyo 1-3, Jones 0-1, Woods 0-1, Robertson 0-3, McLean 0-4), Iowa St. 14-29 (Mitrou-Long 6-9, Niang 3-5, Cooke 2-3, Thomas 2-6, Morris 1-3, Nader 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Chattanooga 37 (Tuoyo 7), Iowa St. 37 (McKay 17). Assists—Chattanooga 12 (Jones 5), Iowa St. 21 (Morris 10). Total Fouls—Chattanooga 14, Iowa St. 11. A—13,305.
Monte Morris had 14 points and 10 assists for his second career double-double with the Cyclones (3-0). They celebrated their highest ranking since the 1996-97 season by hitting a season-high 14 3s - including six from Mitrou-Long.
"We really shot the 3 well. We hadn't done that extremely well in the first two games. But this team's offense is very capable of doing a lot of special things," coach Steve Prohm said.
Iowa State stretched a 15-point halftime lead to 23 early in the second half in cruising to their 29th straight nonconference win at home.
Casey Jones led UTC with 16 points. The Mocs fell a game short of their first 4-0 start in 26 years.
They had got Iowa State's attention, though, by having defeated Georgia and Illinois on the road.
The Cyclones were more than ready for the Southern Conference favorites.
An early 18-2 run put Iowa State up by double digits. UTC kept trying to keep it close, even stuffing Cyclones center Jameel McKay on one occasion. But Morris' steal gave Iowa State the ball right back, and McKay found Mitrou-Long for an open 3.
The Cyclones hit sic of their first nine 3-point tries, and Mitrou-Long opened the second half with three more that gave Iowa State a 60-37 advantage.
"These guys were finding me, and it felt really good and it was going in the hoop, so today was the day," Mitrou-Long said.
"I told the guys a couple weeks ago to make sure we didn't let our 3-point defense catch up to us," UTC coach Matt McCall said in the postgame radio broadcast, "and that's exactly what happened all night. We haven't done a good job all year, and when you're playing on the road and a team makes 14 3s, you have no shot - especially against a top-five team in the country.
"They made 11 3s in the first half and we were 0-for-7. That was the difference in the game."
McKay pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds. He's averaging 13 a game.
"He's just a monster out there. The tenacity that he's playing with is something we're going to need," Niang said.
"Iowa State may have the best starting five in the country," McCall said. "Niang is a Player of the Year candidate; Morris makes the ship go. They have talent all over the place."
Staff writer Gene Henley contributed to this story.