It didn’t take long for Talen Horton-Tucker to learn what gets under George Conditt’s skin. Just a few weeks after the two Iowa State freshmen became acquainted, Horton-Tucker started calling Conditt something that perturbed him: Soft. No player enjoys being called soft, and particularly not a post player. So Horton-Tucker liked to poke that playful insult at Conditt, on and off the court. “I’m always really on George,” Horton-Tucker told the Ames Tribune. “Calling him soft just to try and wake up that monster that he has deep inside of him, because he’s gonna be a great basketball player here.” If there’s a monster that’s asleep inside Conditt, it began to stir on Saturday. While ISU fell in a confounding 58-57 home loss to Kansas State, Conditt had the best game of his young career. The 6-foot-10, 216-pound forward checked into the game in the first half and converted a three-point play to give ISU a 15-11 advantage, but he truly awakened in the second half. He didn’t look soft as he swatted two KSU shots and notched two dunks. His biggest moment came late in the game, when his put-back slam gave ISU a five-point lead with five minutes, 24 seconds remaining. “He played great. He was terrific for us,” ISU coach Steve Prohm said. Conditt finished with nine points (4-of-4 from the field), four rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 15 minutes. “I just tried to come out there and put that energy, put that vibe out that I wanna win and I wanna continue to play hard, so doing what I did in those 15 minutes, I felt like I did good, but it wasn’t good enough,” Conditt said. Conditt brought the Hilton crowd to its feet on a couple of occasions, and displayed emotion throughout by yelling, fist-pumping and gesturing to the crowd. “Every time I step on the court, I try to bring as much energy as I can possible. That’s my main goal. Like if I play strong, if I play with energy, I feel like the team becomes better,” Conditt said. ISU was without post Cam Lard, who injured his ankle against Baylor. “Him coming in this game was a big energy boost for us. With Cam (Lard) out, the lack of energy was gonna be something that we need,” Horton-Tucker told the Tribune. “He brought that today, he had a few big dunks and blocks, he (brought) energy that we needed to the table.” Despite his strong second half play, Conditt sat for the game’s final two minutes in favor of starting post Michael Jacobson. Prohm cited offensive concerns, particularly free throw shooting, for the rationale behind playing Jacobson. Conditt went 1-of-2 from the line, including missing the front end of a one-and-one with just over three minutes left. “I mean, they’re two totally different players. George brings length and size, the ability to protect the basket. But down the stretch, they’re gonna foul,” Prohm said. Still, Conditt’s role on the Cyclones is suddenly integral. Although he had previously only played one minute — at the end of the Kansas game — in Big 12 play, Conditt should now be in line for playing time off the bench. On Saturday, ISU announced that fellow post Solomon Young would take a medical redshirt and sit out the remainder of the season. “I mean, (Conditt) hasn’t played in forever, then he stepped in tonight. He knew was gonna play today. I thought he was great, I thought he was great on both ends,” Prohm said. Said Horton-Tucker: “When he got his opportunity today, he made the most of it.” In the disappointing loss, the Cyclones went the final five minutes of the game with only two points, on a layup from Conditt. But prior to that drought, ISU built a seven-point lead with Conditt on the floor and making plays. “I just feel like today, he kind of showed you guys a little glimpse of what he can do in the future,” Horton-Tucker told the Tribune.<doc-sep>STORYLINE Starting Big 12 play at 0-3 looked like it was a guarantee for Kansas State, as it went to the halftime locker room on Wednesday against West Virginia, trailing by 15 and having only scored 21 points. However, the Wildcats erupted for 50 second half points and pulled off their biggest comeback in school history to win their first Big 12 game. K-State will now begin a back-to-back road stretch, beginning in Ames, Iowa, against a Top 25 team in Iowa State. The Big 12 gives no team a single day off in conference play. Here’s three questions, two players to watch and one observation leading up to today’s game against the Cyclones.<doc-sep>
Cyclones lose second straight game Leading by three in the final minute, Iowa State fell to Kansas State 58-57 on Saturday afternoon. KSU’s Barry Brown scored a layup with 5.2 seconds left and a deep 3-pointer from Lindell Wigginton missed, giving KSU the victory. The Cyclones lost their second straight game to fall to 12-4 and 2-2 in the Big 12, while KSU improved to 12-4 (2-2). Offensively, the Cyclones were balanced. Nick Weiler-Babb led ISU with 11 points, while Marial Shayok and George Conditt contributed nine points each. In his first game back after missing the previous six due to injury, KSU’s Dean Wade was held quiet. He scored just two points in 2 minutes. Brown led the Wildcats with 23 points, including the game-winner, while Kamau Stokes added 12. The Cyclones did not look sharp in the first half. After a 9-0 run gave them a 15-11 lead with 9:50 left in the first half, ISU was outscored by 14 points the rest of the half and trailed 35-26 at the break. Marred by confusion on the offensive end, ISU shot just 37.5 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes. KSU led by as many as 11 points in the second half, but a flurry of four 3-pointers by the Cyclones tied the game at 40. The Wildcats took back the lead, but a 9-0 ISU run over the course of two minutes gave ISU a 55-48 lead and brought the Hilton crowd to their feet. However, the Cyclones were outplayed over the final five minutes, scoring just two points. ISU will next play on Wednesday against No. 8 Texas Tech, which is atop the Big 12 standings. Tipoff in Lubbock is 8 p.m.