AMES — The Tamin Lipsey to Tre King connection was on point in Iowa State’s 96-58 win over Florida A&M.
The King show started early, as he made the paint his home early on. King had all seven of the Cyclones’ points to start the game.
Not only that, King was all over. In only nine minutes, King had nine points and three rebounds.
“I feel like we did a good job of setting the tone,” King said.
King’s dominance in the paint opened up doors for other Cyclones to score. With more eyes on the paint, the midrange shots and 3-pointers were free for the taking.
The first to take advantage from outside the paint was Milan Momcilovic with a fadeaway midrange shot. From that point on, opportunities came from deep.
Lipsey started his historic night halfway through the first. After a rebound from King, Lipsey found himself open beyond the arc and let the ball fly. His first of many 3-pointers.
Minutes later, Lipsey let another one go. Another clean basket from Lipsey.
The Rattlers played a little too loose on Lipsey, giving him chances to find his shot early on and start heating up.
“Teams can’t sag on him anymore,” Momcilovic said.
On the next possession, Lipsey sank another 3-pointer. He was the first Cyclone to get into double-figures, making all of shots from deep. Lipsey was shooting with confidence, something he worked hard in the offseason and early in the non-conference season to find.
Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger was not surprised at how confident the ball was leaving Lipsey’s hands.
“He earned that confidence,” Otzelberger said.
The second half played out similarly to the first. King powered his way into the paint to secure the first bucket of the half, while Lipsey stayed hot from beyond the arc.
Lipsey was already having the best night shooting from deep in his young Cyclone career. However, he was not done yet.
Lipsey let another shot go from 3-point land early in the second half. Again, it went in.
“Obviously, the way we shot today, the way [Lipsey] shot today, if we continue to shoot like that, we’re gonna be really good,” Momcilovic said.
Lipsey was dangerous from deep, which fueled the rest of the team on offense and helped them keep up with Florida A&M’s surprisingly good night from deep. Immediately after Lipsey made his fourth 3-pointer, King secured a defensive board.
The 3-point shooting was contagious, as King wanted to get a piece of the action. King put up a shot from the top of the key but could not quite dial it in as it bounced off the front of the rim.
“Sometimes you gotta try to join the party,” King said. “It’s gonna go one of these days.”
Lipsey had King’s back, as he let another shot fly from deep following King’s miss. Lipsey had five 3-pointers on the night; a new career-high.
With Lipsey being dangerous from beyond the arc and a threat in the paint, Florida A&M could not find answers for him all night long.
“Teams, they’re gonna need to find a way to play him,” Momcilovic said.
When all was said and done, Lipsey had 19 points while shooting 5-for-6 from deep.
King also kept things rolling, as his rebounding on both ends of the court fueled Iowa State’s offense. He finished the day with a double-double, securing 18 points and 10 boards.
With points coming with ease to King and rebounds on the uptick, it was only a matter of time before King filled the statsheet enough to get that elusive double-double. Another accolade for the Cyclone duo that ignited the offensive dominance against Florida A&M.
“I’ve challenged him for that double-double for a few weeks and had his first one here today,” Otzelberger said. “Really pleased with that. Now we’re gonna continue to challenge him to have more of them, because we know what he’s capable of.”
