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In a game that saw momentum shift several times, Kansas held off a rallying Iowa State team 88-75 Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse. Mario Chalmers led the Jayhawks in scoring once again with 23 points. Brandon Rush had 16 and Julian Wright dropped in 13 points for KU. The Cyclone backcourt duo of Will Blalock and Curtis Stinson combined for 40 points, which was a point of contention for KU coach Bill Self after the game. "I worried because I knew that Stinson and Blalock love playing here," said Self, "and we told our guys before the game that we would get a great effort today." Iowa State had more victories in Allen Fieldhouse since the inception of the Big 12 (three, which is half of KU’s conference losses since 1997) than any other conference team, and came ready to play. The Cyclones hit Kansas in the mouth--figuratively--in the first three minutes of the game, taking an 8-1 lead. The Jayhawks’ first field goal came on a steal and dunk by Wright right at the 17:00 mark of the half. The Cyclones would maintain their six point lead at 12-6 with 14:15 left in the half before KU rallied. Kansas then took to the paint, scoring eight of their next 11 points from under the basket. The lead changed hands five times in three minutes before Kansas then turned on the perimeter game. Jeff Hawkins hit two threes and Chalmers added one during a 16-5 run that made KU’s lead 11, 32-21. The lead hovered around ten points until Iowa State hit a dry spell, going the final four minutes of the half without a field goal. Unfortunately, Kansas only got six points in that stretch, and lead 47-32 at the half. Iowa State began to chip away at KU’s lead, pressing off of made baskets the entire game and converting KU turnovers into points. The Jayhawks seemed unable to match the intensity of Blalock and Stinson, who combined for 18 points and four assists in the first six minutes of the second stanza. Jiri Hubalek tossed in a pair of treys during the stretch and ISU had three steals in the run that cut KU’s lead to four at 59-55. That is as close as ISU could get. C.J. Giles came up big in the second half. He was credited with only one block, so we’ll say he altered several shots after Cyclone guards had driven in the lane. Giles also hit 7-10 free throws, finishing with nine points. Between the 12 and eight minute media timeouts, each team must have been battle weary, as neither could generate much offensively. A Chalmers three and a Russell Robinson lay-up were all KU could muster, but it beat ISU’s lone basket, and the lead was re-expanded to seven, 64-57. Rush, coming off his Big 12 Rookie of the Week award, converted a traditional three-point play, expanding KU’s lead to 11 with 6:53 left. KU would only make three more field goals, but hit 15-17 free throws down the stretch to preserve the lead and ultimately the victory. "Iowa State is one of the most talented teams we've played, and their perimeter is unbelievably talented," said Self, "but we played well. Once we got our lead back to nine points, we could breathe a little easier." Tempers flared some at the five minute mark. Replays showed Blalock shoved Robinson over the scorers’ table near the Iowa State bench, but nothing was called. Then the Cyclones’ Shawn Taggert and Giles got tangled up, and Taggert was called for his fifth foul. After some shoving, each team stepped in and the incident was marked with a double technical. Since technicals now count as personal fouls as well, the box score will show Taggert with six fouls. At the end of the game Robinson was fouled by Rashon Clark, and Robinson offered Clark a hand up; Clark accepted and cooler heads prevailed. In recent seasons Iowa State has enjoyed a huge advantage at the free throw line, normally making more shots from the stripe than their opponents attempt. The biggest difference in this game was from the line, as KU went 26-32 from the line while Iowa State went a mere 4-12. In their previous game Wednesday night at K-State, the Cyclones went 1-4. So while not completely satisfying, Kansas gets the win and the season sweep of Iowa State. No time to rest on laurels; a trip to Stillwater on Monday night awaits. "We played miserable early and then got in a groove," said Self. "I don't think we played well the whole game, but we rebounded the ball well and we made our free throws. C.J. did a good job coming in there. Our bench was really good, Darnell and Hawkins both did well.  I thought Christian and Jeremy gave us some good minutes with the few they played. Russell was solid. The whole thing is those freshman. They combine for 52 points, 23 rebounds, and 11 assists. And Mario played great in the second half." "We had a good afternoon and it sets us up well for Monday in Stillwater." Mark Howe is a freelance writer currently residing in Milford, IN. He is a former ticket taker, usher and security worker at Allen Fieldhouse, and can be reached at mhowe (at) rockchalk (dot) com.