AMES—Despite a slow first half from the 3-point arc, the No. 16 Cyclones regained their momentum from deep to cement their lead and secure a 96-57 victory over Stonehill College on Monday.
Having mixed results from deep within the start of the season, the Cyclones lacked their usual confidence and skill from the 3-point mark.
Within the first half, Iowa State went 0-for-7 from behind the arc, with senior guard Tamin Lipsey having the most opportunities from deep with three, but was unable to exploit his chances.
“My teammates keep looking for me, and I feel good with my jumpshot and everything,” Lipsey said. “Didn’t knock down a ton tonight, but just kept shooting, kept going and getting downhill, trying to make plays for myself and others.”
In the first 20 minutes of the game, it seemed as though the Cyclones were going to have a similar game as their exhibition match against Creighton, where Iowa State lost 71-58, with no fault but their own from deep, as they went 0-14.
The Cyclones were able to cement their lead throughout the game, finding specific success points, such as in the paint, where the team secured 32 out of their 42 points in the first half.
However, something finally clicked over the course of halftime, as the Cyclones came back and put their scoring drought from deep to an end.
In the first 77 seconds of the first half, Iowa State came in with a bang, securing its first 3-point shot of the game by freshman guard Killyan Toure, who made the jump shot off a bad pass turnover by Raymond Espinal-Guzman.
“Our best offense is off our defense,” Head Coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “In transition, after a rebound or after a turnover. So we realize that in order to perform as we go into this next tournament, at the highest level, all those things have to be on display.”
The momentum from deep only continued, as the next point in the second half was another 3-point jumpshot, only this time the shot was secured by senior forward Joshua Jefferson.
“We love playing with each other, so we knew when it was going to start clicking for us,” Jefferson said. “And hitting a couple threes helps.”
Not long after that, in the 16th minute of the second half, Lipsey made up for his missed shots in the first half as he secured a triple to give the Cyclones a 51-30 lead.
After two made free throws by Lipsey, another Cyclone starter made a 3-point shot, this time junior forward Milan Momcilovic, to boost the score to 58-32 and regain his reputation of being the leader from deep, as he made 39% of his shots from behind the arc in the previous season.
With the Cyclones only finding a little success from deep, Iowa State ended the game going 7-21, with other players such as freshman guard Jamarion Batemon finding success, to bring the Cyclones to secure 33% of their shots from behind the arc.
Lipsey and Momcilovic led the team with the most secured shots from behind the arc, as they both went 2-for-6 from deep.
Despite finding their groove in the second half, the Cyclones’ opponent found more success from deep as Stonehill College went 6-for-12 in the first half and 4-for-15 in the second, overall securing 37% from behind the arc.
“I think there was some unnecessary help specifically off number 10 early on, when he got going, we got to be more mentally dialed in so that we have an awareness to other teams’ greater shooters, to not give them clean looks,” Otzelberger said.
“They obviously had some shooters on the court,” Lipsey said. “They were great with cutting and stuff and sometimes we didn’t communicate well, and they got wide-open threes.”
