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Men's Basketball
Creighton (Exhibition)
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Iowa State University Athletics
Saturday, February 3
Waco, Texas
7:00 PM
Iowa State University
16-5,5-3Big 12
68
at
70
Baylor
16-5,5-3Big 12
1
2
F
Iowa St.
28
40
68
Baylor
40
30
70
Momcilovic’s Game-Winner Waved Off at No. 18 Baylor
02.03.2024 | Men's Basketball
WACO, Texas – In a game that featured just about everything you could imagine, the twelfth-ranked Iowa State Cyclones (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) saw their three-game win streak snatched away at the end of regulation as Milan Momcilovic's game-winning 3-pointer was waved off and No. 18 Baylor (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) claimed a 70-68 victory.
Saturday's showdown lived up to the top-20 billing as the game featured an assortment of unusual happenings, including an ejection of Baylor head coach Scott Drew, a 20-0 Iowa State run (its largest of the season), a 15-point ISU deficit erased, a Baylor go-ahead shot with two seconds left and a potential Cyclone game-winner waved off.
The Bears shot a scorching 52 percent from beyond the arc, burying 12 of their 23 attempts and outrebounded the Cyclones as they claimed a second-straight win.
Iowa State, along with Baylor and Texas Tech, is 5-3, while both Houston and Kansas are 6-3 in conference play.
Keshon Gilbert led the way for the Cyclones, as the junior out of St. Louis had a game-high 24 points with a career-high five 3-pointers made. Curtis Jones had 11 off the bench and Momcilovic joined them in double figures with 10. Robert Jones had seven rebounds, six being huge offensive boards and a game-high three steals.
The Bears were led by RayJ Dennis, who had 18 points with seven boards and four 3-pointers. Baylor guard Jayden Nunn had 16 points – two of which came on what proved to be the game-winning layup with two seconds remaining.
How It Happened
The game got off to a really choppy start on both sides, as the first media timeout saw a 6-5 Baylor lead. The two teams would go back and forth, exchanging early leads until the nine-minute mark, where Baylor would grab an 18-17 advantage.
Before Baylor grabbed the lead, however, its coach – Scott Drew – was assessed a technical foul to which Momcilovic nailed both freebies. It marked the third-straight contest an opposing coach has been T'd up against the Cyclones.
The Bears bogged down Iowa State's offense with a 3-2 zone that threw a wrench into the Cyclone scoring efforts. BU would end the half on a 22-11 run from that point to take a 12-point lead (40-28) into the break. The lead would have been larger if not for a Gilbert halfcourt heave to beat the horn.
Keshon Gilbert with the buzzer-beater at the half.
— Iowa State Men's Basketball (@CycloneMBB) February 4, 2024
#18 BU 40 - #12 ISU 28 | Halftime#Cyclones | #C5C pic.twitter.com/lVXHKGFofu
The second half started much like the first ended, Baylor keeping the Cyclones at arm's length and returning every punch ISU threw. The tone of the game changed, though, at the 12:30 mark of the second stanza in what would be the start of a 20-0 Cyclone run as the Bears held a 54-41 edge.
Tre King got the streak started with a two-point jumper while both Gilbert and R. Jones contributed a free throw as the run was 4-0. Before Jones could shoot his second free throw, a second technical foul was then given to Scott Drew, resulting in his ejection – the first of his career. C. Jones came to the line, buried a pair, and then R. Jones finished his two shots off to make it seven straight for the Cyclones as the Baylor lead was down to six.
Without Drew, Baylor found itself a bit out of sorts, and, flustered, Associate Head Coach John Jakus (who stepped in for Drew) received a technical foul just seconds later. C. Jones came back to the stripe and calmly cashed two, bringing the Baylor lead to just four. A Baylor turnover and Momcilovic midrange jumper brought the deficit down to two.
A stop led to a pair of R. Jones free throw attempts where he'd make one to bring the BU lead down to just one. Another Cyclone stop led to a Cyclone possession which saw Momcilovic make a putback to give ISU a one-point lead, its first in 20 minutes of game time. A Lipsey layup, a pair of Gilbert free throws and a C. Jones jump shot would round out the run as ISU had a 61-54 lead with 7:56 left to play.
Right Place. Right Time.#Cyclones | #C5C | @MilanMomcilovi5 pic.twitter.com/H54Nbz2aNF
— Iowa State Men's Basketball (@CycloneMBB) February 4, 2024
The Bears regained focus and clawed back into the action, tying the game up with 2:55 to go. A 3-pointer by Dennis with 2:13 left forced ISU to call a timeout as the Cyclones went down four. A stop and a pair of Lipsey free throws brought the lead to two.
In a wild sequence that featured a Baylor turnover, a Cyclone miss, another Baylor turnover, an Iowa State turnover and a pair of missed free throws from the Bears, the Cyclones found themselves with the ball – down two – with 18 seconds left.
Without taking a timeout, Lipsey got the ball from Momcilovic, drove the all the way and laid it in with 10 seconds left to tie it up. Nunn returned the favor, going the length of the court to lay it in, plus the foul, for the Bears to gain a two-point lead with two seconds left.
What was already a strange game, got stranger as Nunn missed the free throw. ISU then purposefully didn't touch the miss right away to set up a runout; however, the clock had begun to run prior to a player touching the ball and action was stopped to adjust – giving the Cyclones time to draw up a play.
The officials ended up putting 1.2 seconds back on the clock and ISU ran its SLOB to perfection. A pass from Lipsey to King, who handed it to Momcilovic who hoisted at the horn. He would bank it in, in what was a moment of jubilation for the Cyclones. However, it was just for a moment, as the officials again went back to check the clock and determined it came after the horn as the Bears held onto their 70-68 win.
Top Performer
Keshon Gilbert scored his second-most points as a Cyclone today, one off of his career-high of 25. Gilbert was the main reason the Cyclones had a chance in the second half, as he had 13 of the 28 points at the break.
Notes
- Tamin Lipsey moved into 15th all-time at ISU on the steals list.
- He is just one steal away from 14th all-time.
- He is also now 20th all-time in assists in school history.
- Curtis Jones played in his 80th career game today.
- Jones has now played in over 1,300 minutes of college action.
- Keshon Gilbert has now made over 50 career 3-pointers.
- Robert Jones is now over 300 rebounds at ISU.
Up Next
Iowa State will stay in the Lone Star State over the weekend as it's back in action on Tuesday night against the Texas Longhorns in Austin. Tuesday night's game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Longhorn Network.
Team Stats
IowaSt
Baylor
FG%
.393
.457
3FG%
.357
.522
FT%
.594
.696
RB
31
36
TO
11
20
STL
10
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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