AMES – Though the first few minutes of the game were shaky, No. 3 Iowa State found a groove late in the first half and used that to pull away from Omaha in an 83-51 route Sunday.
The brunt of the work in the effort to build a gap was done in that late first-half stint, which happened through a collective effort of scoring and an ability to force turnovers.
Cyclones find fire to end first half
Throughout the opening portion of the game, Omaha kept things tight with Iowa State. There were multiple times when the Mavericks found themselves in front of the Cyclones in the first half, but only by a couple of points.
The main cause came from the turnovers that the Cyclones committed. Iowa State had eight first-half turnovers, but all happened before the late scoring run.
“They had some active hands which got deflections,” Iowa State forward Milan Momcilovic said. “It was also us being sloppy and not really taking care of the ball.”
Omaha’s last lead was with eight minutes remaining in the first half, 19-18. Iowa State then tied the game at 21 and took over in the final six minutes.
A 13-0 run started with a 3-pointer from guard Keshon Gilbert, who finished as the leading scorer with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
Though Omaha scored a basket with 1:44 left in the half, the Cyclone offense went on another run to end the half. In all, Iowa State went on a 20-2 run in the final six minutes of the first half.
“Starting the game, we were very careless with the basketball,” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “We were impatient and that put us in a bad spot.”
Six Cyclones contributed to the 20-2 run, with Gilbert leading the way with seven of those points.
Five double-digit scorers
It’s no secret that the Iowa State offense has been humming this season. The defense has been the main focal point of Otzelberger’s time in Ames, but with an average of over 80 points per game, the Cyclones are proving their abilities on both sides of the ball.
A lot of that comes with Iowa State’s tendency to have different players step up. Some nights Gilbert is the leading scorer, other nights it’s guard Curtis Jones or forward Joshua Jefferson.
Gilbert, Jefferson, Momcilovic, guard Tamin Lipsey and guard Nate Heise all scored 10 or more points. Heise and Momcilovic were the hot hands from deep.
“We’ve got a team this year where everyone can score the ball, so I think you’re gonna see a lot of games where we’re gonna have five, six guys in double-digits,” Momcilovic said. “That’s just how we play, get everybody involved.”
Both Heise and Momcilovic made two 3-pointers, with Heise making both of his attempts and Momcilovic going 2-for-4.
Momcilovic gave Heise praise for his willingness to not only score the ball but make extra-effort plays, whether it be forcing steals or flying in to grab rebounds.
“He’s just continuing to grow as a player,” Momcilovic said. “He’s being more aggressive which is good, taking more shots.”
Jefferson was the closest to a double-double with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. His three-game streak of double-doubles did come to an end, but he still contributed in a big way to Iowa State’s win.
Paint points rule the day
Iowa State didn’t have the best day shooting outside, as the Cyclones went 6-for-20 from deep. However, 50 of Iowa State’s 83 points were scored in the paint.
“Coach continues to make us demand the ball,” Jefferson said.
The usual suspects, center Dishon Jackson and Jefferson, once again made their names known inside. Jefferson did connect on a 3-pointer, but the majority of his scoring happened inside.
Jackson scored six on 2-for-4 shooting with two free throws. Center Brandton Chatfield also scored six and provided a spark when the Cyclones needed it most.
With a blocked shot and three rebounds to go along with his points, Chatfield had a solid showing off the bench Sunday.
“He was flying around and creating energy and it allowed us to generate some of the steals,” Otzelberger said. “[Chatfield] was really good at pick-and-roll defense.”
