Back on the East Coast a short distance from where he transferred from, shooting guard Izaiah Brockington scored 23 of his career-high 30 points to key Iowa State to an 82-70 victory over #25 Xavier.

The first-round win in the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, moved the Cyclones to 5-0 to open a season for the first time since 2016. It was the second Power-6 victory for T.J. Otzelberger as head coach, as ISU also triumphed over Oregon State at Hilton Coliseum a week ago.

Playing away from Ames for the first time this season, the Cyclones carried over the momentum they gathered from four straight wins at home right away. Gabe Kalscheur's two free throws nearly 7 1/2 minutes in put his team on top 17-7.

However, the Musketeers used a seven-point flurry later in the half to take their first lead of the game, 30-29, with 4:33 remaining in the half. At the center of it all was Iowa transfer Jack Nunge, who would finish with 24 points and four rebounds off the bench.

Nine unanswered points to open the second half for the Cyclones, which included consecutive buckets from Brockington, erased what had been a slim 39-38 lead for Xavier at the break.

Five minutes later, the Penn State transfer scored seven straight points to help I-State extend its lead to 62-48.

The Cyclones shot 51.5-percent from the field and were bolstered by Brockington's knocking down 12 of 19 attempts. He added six rebounds and three assists.

True freshman point guard Tyrese Hunter added 19 points, four rebounds and two assists while starting in his fifth career game. Gabe Kalscheur added 12 points, while George Conditt contributed 10 and five rebounds prior to fouling out.

ISU advances to the finals of the four-team tournament and will play the winner of Memphis and Virginia Tech in Friday's nightcap.