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HONOLULU (AP) - Georges Niang scored 22 points and No. 17 Iowa State beat George Mason 79-67 on Sunday in the first round of the Diamond Head Classic.
The Cyclones (9-0) had their second-lowest scoring game of the season but still managed to extend their winning streak. Iowa State _ the top scoring team in the country _ was one of 10 undefeated teams in Division I at the start of Sunday.
Melvin Ejim, Iowa State's leading scorer going into the game, had 14 points and 11 rebounds while DeAndre Kane had 13 points and eight assists.
Patrick Holloway scored 19 points for George Mason (5-5) and Byron Allen had 14.
The game was played amid tight security among arrangements made by the White House for President Barack Obama to attend the tournament's second game, Oregon State against Akron. Obama's brother-in-law, Craig Robinson, is the head coach of the Beavers.
Players for both Iowa State and George Mason were screened with metal detectors as they entered the arena Sunday morning.
Three minutes into the second half, Niang stole the ball from Marko Gujanicic and his layup gave Iowa State its first 10-point lead at 40-30. After that, George Mason (5-5) pulled no closer than five points with 6:18 left.
Iowa State made just three of 14 3-point attempts in the first half (21 percent) but the Cyclones used a 10-2 run to avoid their worst half in any game this season. Iowa State scored 34 points in the first half; its season low is 29 points in the first half against Northern Iowa on Dec. 7.
Niang gave Iowa State its largest lead of the game with little more than 2 minutes left, hitting a 3-pointer at the top of the key. After making the shot, Niang trotted backward down the court with his arms outstretched and signaling threes on each hand with his pinky, ring and middle fingers.
Iowa State shot 52 percent in the second half after shooting 40 percent in the first half. Iowa state scored 45 points in the second half _ its season low in a second half this season is 42 points.
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Oskar Garcia can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/oskargarcia
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