Cyclones Blast Bears; Advance to Finals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – No. 7 Iowa State (26-7, 13-5 Big 12) advanced to its fifth Big 12 Championship game in the last ten years, downing No. 14 Baylor (23-10, 11-7 Big 12) in dominant fashion in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship semifinals at T-Mobile Center, 76-62.

Keshon Gilbert led the Cyclones with a game-high 20 points, with Curtis Jones (13), Milan Momcilovic (10), Tamin Lipsey (10) and Hason Ward (10) joining him in double figures.

Never trailing, Iowa State jumped on Baylor early and held the prolific shooting Bears to just 21 percent from beyond the arc. ISU conversely shot 50 percent from downtown (10-20) and paired it with efficient free throw shooting (12-13).

Baylor was led by Jalen Bridges who tied Gilbert with a game-high 20 points. Gilbert and teammate Yves Missi had double-doubles on the evening while RayJ Dennis had 11 assists.

How It Happened
The Cyclones got off to a blazing start, knocking down three straight triples to start the game and taking a 9-1 lead to force a Baylor timeout. The Bears spent the next six minutes whittling down the Cyclone lead to eventually tie things up at 15 with just under 10 minutes to play.

Iowa State responded with a 13-2 run, powered by paint production and free throw conversions, taking an 11-point lead at the five-minute mark. Baylor dented the ISU lead before the break, trimming it to seven before the break.

ISU had a balanced scoring effort at the break, as seven different players had scored with four having at least five points. Gilbert led the way with nine while Lipsey had eight points to go along with four rebounds and four assists – both team highs at the half.

The Cyclones continued their momentum into the second half, opening the second stanza on a 7-1 run. The ISU lead ballooned to 22 by the 14-minute mark as an 8-0 run spearheaded by a pair of threes from C. Jones and Gilbert which pushed the Cyclones to their largest lead of the night.

Baylor threatened to make things interesting, eventually trimming the ISU lead to 11 at the eight-minute mark but was turned away by a 13-4 Cyclone run. Iowa State kept the Bears at bay, eventually going on to win by 14 points, 76-62.

BU never led in the game and was unable to pull within single digits for nearly the entire second half, trailing by double figures from 19:47-on.

Top Performers
Multiple Cyclones played well on the evening, as five finished in double figures, but Keshon Gilbert stood above the rest. The junior out of St. Louis had an all-around game, going for a game-high 20 points to go along with seven boards and seven assists as well as two steals.

Up Next
Iowa State will be back in action tomorrow, March 16, when it faces off with top-seeded and No. 1 Houston in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Game. Tomorrow's game is set to tip at 5 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN.

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Team Stats

Keshon Gilbert

Curtis Jones

Milan Momcilovic

Tamin Lipsey

Players Mentioned

Keshon Gilbert

Curtis Jones

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Hason Ward

Players Mentioned

Keshon Gilbert

Curtis Jones

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Hason Ward

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics