Missouri avenges loss to slumping Iowa St.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Kareem Rush rallied from a cold first half by scoring 23 of his 27 points the rest of the way, leading No. 22 Missouri to a 76-73 victory over Iowa State on Wednesday night.

Rush was 1-for-8 from the field in the first half as Iowa State, which beat Missouri last month in Ames, Iowa, for its lone conference victory, took a 40-35 lead. He was 9-for-16 the rest of the way, including four points over the final 1:31, as Missouri came back from a seven-point deficit.

Entering the game Rush averaged 26 points for his career against Iowa State, his best against any team.

Two free throws by Rickey Paulding with 15 seconds to go gave the Tigers (17-6, 6-3 Big 12) a 75-71 lead. Shane Power hit a layup for Iowa State with 8.9 seconds left, and Rush hit a free throw with 7.4 seconds left, then blocked Jake Sullivan's pass in the Iowa State end with 1.2 seconds to go.

Sullivan's long 3-pointer banked off the backboard and the front of the rim at the buzzer. Coach Larry Eustachy stormed the court unsuccessfully begging for a foul.

Arthur Johnson added 13 points and 10 rebounds -- his eighth double-double of the season -- for Missouri. Paulding had 14 points and Clarence Gilbert had 11 points and eight assists for the Tigers, who are 12-1 at home and have won three of four overall.

Tyray Pearson had 26 points for Iowa State, which has lost eight in a row since beating Missouri 71-67 on Jan. 9. Pearson had a career-best 28 in the earlier meeting.

Power added 19 points on 9-for-12 shooting and Sullivan had 13 points for the Cyclones (9-15, 1-9), who are in last place in the Big 12.

The 1-2 punch of Pearson and Power was too much for Missouri in the first half. Pearson had 14 points, scoring on a variety of inside moves, and Power had 13 on a mixture of drives and outside shots.