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Iowa State knocks off No. 1 North Carolina

Sports

November 26th, 2022 by admin

For the third time in school history the Iowa State men’s basketball team beat the No. 1 ranked team in the country with a 70-65 win over North Carolina in the Phil Knight Invitational semifinals in Portland on Friday.

Caleb Grill delivered a career performance with 31 points, going 7 for 11 from the three-point line. Entering the game Grill was 4 for 24 from 3 but he got hot on Friday. Iowa State was down 7 with 3:57 left in the game but Grill hit a three that sparked a 17-5 run to end the game for the Cyclones.

St. Bonaventure transfer Jaren Holmes was big in the win as well with 22 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Robert Jones delivered 10 points off the bench and the Cyclones successfully steered through some foul trouble as well.

It was the program’s first win over a No. 1 team since Jan. 18, 2016 over Oklahoma. The Cyclones improved to 5-0 and will play in the Phil Knight Invitational Championship on Sunday night against UCONN. That game is set for a 9:00 p.m. start on ESPN.