Cyclones Battle Past K-State, 78-67

AMES, Iowa – No. 23 Iowa State outlasted Kansas State, 78-67, in a physical Big 12 battle Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones improve to 15-4 overall and 4-2 in Big 12 play, while K-State falls to 14-5 overall and 4-2 in league action.

K-State used a 9-0 run early in the second half to get back into the game after trailing by a dozen at the break. The Wildcats were able to tie the game up at 47-all with 14:39 left but never did take the lead from the Cyclones, who led wire-to-wire.

Coach TJ Otzelberger earned his 200th win at Iowa State on the night. He is 56-31 as head coach. He also earned his 39th win in Hilton, the seventh-most by any coach in program history. Otz's 56 wins are the fifth-most by a coach in their first three years leading the program.

How It Happened
Iowa State got off to a 6-0 start as Keshon Gilbert hit one of ISU's five first-half 3-pointers. The Cyclones would maintain a comfortable lead until K-State used a 6-0 run of its own to cut the lead to 17-14.

But, as was the case most of the night, the Cyclones responded. This time with an 11-2 run highlighted by two 3-pointers from Milan Momcilovic and five points from Curtis Jones to gain some separation.

Yeah, that's going in.#Cyclones | #C5C | @MilanMomcilovi5 pic.twitter.com/ww7KnPHEjR
— Iowa State Men's Basketball (@CycloneMBB) January 25, 2024

The Cyclones went into the break leading 41-29 while holding K-State to just 1-for-8 shooting behind the arc and no field goals over the final 4:10 of the half. Curtis Jones led the Cyclones with nine first-half points, while Robert Jones and Momcilovic chipped in eight each.

K-State burst out of the gate in the second half, connecting on its first four 3-pointers of the half and making seven in total as it rallied to tie the game on a Cam Carter dunk just over five minutes in.

After the game went back-and-forth, Keshon Gilbert sank free throws on consecutive possessions to put ISU up 60-57.

It was another Hason Ward highlight dunk that gave the Cyclones the lead for good on a putback with just over four minutes left. ISU would rattle off nine of the next 10 points on its way to its second-straight Big 12 Conference victory.

That Will Wake You Up.#Cyclones | #C5C | @HasonWard pic.twitter.com/CwMTrs6Yta
— Iowa State Men's Basketball (@CycloneMBB) January 25, 2024

ISU held a 38-25 edge on the glass.

Top Performers
Momcilovic, Gilbert and Curtis Jones combined to score 52 of ISU's 78 points in the game.

Momcilovic scored a game-high 19 points as the freshman reached double figures for the 10^th-straight game.

Gilbert had 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds to record his second double-double of the season.

Off the bench, Curtis Jones followed up a 17-point performance against TCU on Saturday with 18 points this evening, connecting on three 3-pointers and making all five of his free-throw attempts.

K-State was paced by 16 points from Arthur Kaluma and 12 from Carter.

Notes

Tamin Lipsey extended his school record steals streak to 31 games., the second longest streak in the nation.
- He is one steal away from #16 all-time in ISU annals.
- He is five points shy of 500.
Curtis Jones notched career field goal number 250 on the night and surpassed 700 total points.
Keshon Gilbert eclipsed 200 career defensive rebounds.
Robert Jones went over 450 points in an ISU uniform on the night.
Milan Momcilovic is now over 250 points on the season.
Hason Ward earned his 75th victory of his career, joining Tre King as the only Cyclones to reach the mark.

Up Next
Iowa State stays home this weekend as it plays host to No. 7 Kansas Saturday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. The only meeting between the schools during the regular season will be broadcast on CBS.

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Team Stats

Milan Momcilovic

Curtis Jones

Keshon Gilbert

Tamin Lipsey

Players Mentioned

Keshon Gilbert

Curtis Jones

Robert Jones

Tre King

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Hason Ward

Players Mentioned

Keshon Gilbert

Curtis Jones

Robert Jones

Tre King

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Hason Ward

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics