Melton, Jones lead Florida A&M to 70-68 win over Iowa St.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Rod Melton Jr. scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half, D.J. Jones added 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and Florida A&M beat Iowa State 70-68 on Tuesday night.

Melton made 9 of 13 from the field, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range, and Jones finished with seven rebounds and two blocks. M.J. Randolph had 13 points and Kamron Reaves scored 10 for Florida A&M. The Rattlers (2-9) have won back-to-back games after opening the season with nine consecutive losses.

Iowa State (7-5) led by as many as 13 points in the first half and took a 36-24 lead when Rasir Bolton hit a 3-pointer 22 seconds after halftime. Melton scored six points during a 13-2 run that gave FAMU a 44-42 lead with 12 minutes to play. Bolton made another 3 before George Conditt hit two free throws to give Cyclones a one-point lead with 48 seconds remaining but Melton made a jumper and, after an Iowa State turnover, Randolph made 1-of-2 free throws to seal it.

Bolton finished with a career-high 29 points, including 23 in the second half, for Iowa State. Conditt scored 12 points and Terrence Lewis had 10 points and eight rebounds.

BIG PICTURE

Florida A&M: The Rattlers, who were picked to finish ninth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, shot 57.6%, and scored 13 points off 10 Iowa State turnovers, in the second half.

Iowa State: The Cyclones were without leading-scorer Tyrese Haliburton (17.3 points per game). The sophomore guard, who leads the Big 12 in assists (7.7) and steals (2.6) per game, missed the game due to a wrist injury suffered in practice and is expected to play in the Big 12 opener on Saturday. According to reports, Halliburton’s absence was “primarily precautionary, against a team that’s 1-9 and hasn’t played a home game yet this season.”

UP NEXT

Florida A&M opens MEAC play at North Carolina Central on Saturday.

Iowa State plays at TCU, which has won four in a row against the Cyclones, in the Big 12 opener for both teams on Saturday.