AMES, Iowa (AP) — Donovan Jackson scored 25 points, including a career-high seven 3s, Cameron Lard had 15 points with 11 rebounds and Iowa State held off Alcorn State 78-58 on Sunday for its seventh straight win. Lindell Wigginton scored 16 points for the Cyclones (7-2), who were forced to rally from an early 9-point deficit against arguably the worst team on their schedule. The Cyclones, fresh off an emotional home win over rival Iowa, were sluggish — to say the least — from the opening tip. Alcorn State (2-8) took advantage, knocking down four of their first five tries from 3-point range for a 14-5 lead.

Though Iowa State eventually grabbed a slim lead, Dante Sterling’s 4-point play with 55.4 seconds left in the first half helped the Braves stay within 33-32 by the break. Iowa State opened the second half on a 15-3 run, highlighted by 3s from Jackson and Wigginton, to push its lead to 48-35 with 15:33 left. The Cyclones held a comfortable lead for the rest of the game, outscoring the overwhelmed Braves 45-26 in the second half. Devon Brewer scored 15 points for Alcorn State.

This edition of the Cyclones isn’t good enough to play unfocused basketball and expect to win — and never was that more evident than on Sunday. Creighton beat this same Alcorn State team by 37, and UNI beat the Braves by 28. Up next: Iowa State and Northern Iowa will square off on Saturday in Des Moines.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Freshman Luka Garza had 23 points and 13 rebounds to help Iowa snap a four-game skid with a 91-60 win over Southern on Sunday. Connor McCaffery made the first appearance of his career Sunday afternoon for the Hawkeyes (5-6) after missing the first 10 games with a sprained ankle followed by illness. The freshman played 17 minutes and had five points, four assists, and three rebounds in his debut. Aaron Ray had 12 points to lead Southern (2-8).

Iowa’s offense started off slow and Southern led by 6 points with 8:28 left in the first half. From there on, it was all Iowa. The Hawkeyes went on a 24-8 run to end the first half and outscored the Jaguars 50-29 in the second. The Hawkeyes desperately needed a win after dropping four in a row, including two Big Ten matchups. Iowa should gain some momentum to close out its non-conference schedule over the next few weeks.

The Hawkeyes head next to Des Moines to take on Drake in the Hy-Vee Big Four Classic at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Bennett Koch totaled 12 points and seven rebounds and Isaiah Brown and reserve Wyatt Lohaus scored 11 apiece to power Northern Iowa to an 80-47 victory over Division III member Dubuque on Sunday. Koch opened the scoring with a layup, Brown followed with a pair of 3-pointers and Northern Iowa shot out to a 15-0 lead.

Northern Iowa (8-2) shot better from outside the 3-point arc than inside it. The Panthers buried 57 percent of their 3-pointers (12 of 21), but made just 15 of 35 from 2-point range (48 percent). Jamaree Atwater topped the Spartans with 16 points, but he made only 6 of 21 shots from the floor, including 2 of 8 from long range. Atwater added eight rebounds and two steals. Dubuque shot 27 percent from the floor. Northern Iowa had 14 different players score.

The Panthers lead the all-time series 12-8 and have won nine straight against the Spartans dating back to the 1924-25 season.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Josey Jewell of Iowa has won the Lott IMPACT Trophy as the college defensive player having the biggest influence on his team. The other finalists were Micah Kiser of Virginia, Harrison Phillips of Stanford and Minkah Fitzpatrick of Alabama. Jewell received the award Sunday night from Ronnie Lott at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach. It goes to a player with strong academic work, community involvement and team leadership.

The senior linebacker from Decorah, Iowa, had 136 tackles, 13.5 tackles for losses and 11 passes broken up this season. He was an All-Big Ten selection and also was an academic All-Big Ten selection, with a 3.0 GPA as an environmental studies major. Iowa will receive $25,000 for its general scholarship fund.

The Hawkeyes play Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 27.

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Josey Jewell of Iowa has won the Lott IMPACT Trophy as the college defensive player having the biggest influence on his team. The other finalists were Micah Kiser of Virginia, Harrison Phillips of Stanford and Minkah Fitzpatrick of Alabama.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Donovan Jackson scored 25 points, including a career-high seven 3s, Cameron Lard had 15 points with 11 rebounds and Iowa State held off Alcorn State 78-58 for its seventh straight win. Lindell Wigginton scored 16 points for the Cyclones, who were forced to rally from an early 9-point deficit against arguably the worst team on their schedule.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Freshman Luka Garza had 23 points and 13 rebounds to help Iowa snap a four-game skid with a 91-60 win over Southern. Connor McCaffery made the first appearance of his career Sunday afternoon for the Hawkeyes after missing the first 10 games with a sprained ankle followed by illness.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kareem Hunt ran for 116 yards and a touchdown, the Chiefs shut down Derek Carr and Raiders offense and Kansas City held on to beat Oakland 26-15. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Chiefs and gave them a big boost in the AFC West. They began the day tied with the Raiders and Chargers atop the standings.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — A person familiar with the negotiations says reliever Luke Gregerson and the St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to an $11 million, two-year contract. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a physical and had not yet been announced. A 33-year-old right-hander, Gregerson went 2-3 with a career-high 4.57 ERA in 65 relief appearances for Houston. He did not allow a run in five postseason appearances as the Astros won their first title.