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MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Second-seeded Iowa State woke up just in time to shake off stubborn No. 15 Central Connecticut. Jamaal Tinsley started and finished a 12-0 run after the Cyclones fell into a late tie and collected 26 points in an 88-78 victory over Central Connecticut in a surprisingly close Midwest Region first-round game. Iowa State advances to meet No. 7 Auburn on Saturday in the second round. "I don't know anything about Auburn," Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy admitted. "I kept getting badgered as I was trying to scout them. ... I know they're really well-coached. Coach (Cliff) Ellis is one of the all-timers. They've faced a lot of adversity in losing (Chris) Porter and are probably tighter because of it." Marcus Fizer, the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, had 15 of his 27 points in the first half as Iowa State (30-4) built a 46-37 lead. But the Cyclones threw away the entire advantage as crunch time approached. Rick Mickens made a layup with 6:10 remaining to draw the Blue Devils even, 69-69, and finished a 16-6 outburst. Mickens, the Northeast Conference Player of the Year, had 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals without a turnover. Tinsley gave the Cyclones the lead for good with his layup at 5:53 and Michael Nurse hit a 3-pointer 56 seconds later to make it 74-69. Nurse had missed six shots in a row before converting and ended up with 16 points. Stevie Johnson scored on a follow shot at the 4:32 mark, Nurse made a bucket about a minute later and Tinsley capped the run with a 3-pointer at the 2:22 mark for an 81-69 lead. "He's a great player who makes plays," Eustachy said of Tinsley, who was 10-of-13 from the field, made both of his 3-point attempts, had six rebounds, six assists and four steals. "He gets in transition and you can't stop him. "During that timeout when it was tied or close to it I said it was time to make plays, whether you're tired or not. He made the plays. We're a different team without him. He doesn't get enough attention. I love what Marcus said, 'I don't have to touch the ball. We have other players.'" The crowd of 22,013 at the Metrodome was prominently in favor of the Cyclones, who hail from roughly three hours away and made no small impact, according to Fizer and Eustachy. "Our fans from Ames and all over are great," Fizer said. "They're the loudest fans in the nation, if you ask us. Whenever it's possible, whenever they can be there, they'll be there." "When we were 15-15 last year they were the same way," Eustachy said. "That's why I made a 10-year commitment here. It probably was a difference. They really helped us through some difficult times." Iowa State cruised the rest of the way and when the buzzer sounded had doubled last season's win total. Prior to this year, Iowa State never had been seeded higher than sixth in the NCAA Tournament and its previous record for wins in a season was 24, in 1995-96. The Cyclones shot 61 percent (34-of-56) from the floor and were 8-of-19 from 3-point range. They held a 37-28 rebounding advantage but could not put away the Blue Devils, who hung around by shooting 48 percent (32-of-67) overall and 50 percent (18-of-36) in the second half. John Tice added 21 points for Central Connecticut (25-6), which was making its first NCAA Tournament appearance and fell one win shy of matching the school record of 26 wins, set in the 1983-84, when the program was still in Division II. "He's very hard to guard because he'll drive it but if you back off, he'll shoot on you," Eustachy said of Tice. "He doesn't lead the team in free throws for no reason. There was no tricking them. The guys would not want to play them again." The loss by the Blue Devils, playing in front of 1972 alumnus and Dallas Cowboys coach Dave Campo, dropped the Northeast Conference to 0-16 in NCAA Tournament play since the field was expanded to 64 teams. Mickens had only two points in the first half as Central Connecticut fell to a 46-37 deficit. But the Blue Devils actually had trailed by as many as 19 points in the last five minutes before getting back into the game with a 12-2 run leading into the break. The deficit got back to 57-42 with on a layup by Kantrail Horton with 16:46 remaining in the game before the Blue Devils rallied.
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