Defense spurs No. 10 A&M past Cyclones

Joseph Jones scored 21 points and No. 10 Texas A&M's defense did the rest in the Aggies' 73-49 win over Iowa State on Wednesday night.

The win is Texas A&M's 20th straight at home and Iowa State's fifth consecutive loss.

The Cyclones (11-10, 2-5) were forced to play catch up all night after the Aggies jumped to a 11-0 lead and never slowed down. Acie Law got Texas A&M (18-3, 6-1 Big 12) to 70 points with a layup with 5:51 remaining and coach Billy Gillispie sent in a cast of backups to finish the game.

Jones scored all but two of his points in the first half and sat for extended periods after the break. Law and Antanas Kavaliauskas scored 13 apiece for Texas A&M.

Texas A&M's defense harassed, hurried and frustrated Iowa State from the start, forcing the Cyclones into 21 turnovers, and often leaving them looking confused. Among the miscues for the Cyclones was a five-second call on an inbound pass, a handful of traveling calls and a couple of instances where players looked to have passed directly to a defender.

The Aggies entered the game leading the nation in defensive field goal percentage and allowing the second fewest points a game. The Cyclones shot just 31 percent and were held to their fewest points of the season.

It's nothing new to the Aggies, who have held 32 straight opponents to less than 50 percent shooting, the nation's longest streak.

Texas A&M led 39-23 at halftime, after Jones set the pace early, scoring six of the game's first eight points.

Wesley Johnson led the Cyclones with 17 points, including three 3-pointers and Mike Taylor added 13 points.