Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus FDU on November 3, 2025 , Win , 88, to, 50
Final
Men's Basketball
88
FDU
50
.png&width=70&height=70&type=webp)
Iowa State University Athletics
Monday, November 24
Las Vegas, Nev.
3:30 PM
Iowa State
5-0,0-0Big 12
83
vs
82
St. John's
3-2,0-0Big East
1
2
F
Iowa St.
43
40
83
St. John's (NY)
45
37
82
Photo by: Jeff Spaur
No. 15 Cyclones Edge No. 14 Red Storm in Players Era Opener
11.24.2025 | Men's Basketball
LAS VEGAS – In a contest that had intensity reminiscent of March Madness, No. 15 Iowa State (5-0) edged No. 14 St. John's (3-2) in the opening game of the Players Era Championship, 83-82.
ISU head coach T.J. Otzelberger hit the century mark, claiming his 100th win as Cyclone head coach and his 26th over a ranked team at Iowa State. Since Otzelberger took over in 2021, ISU is tied for the fourth-most wins over ranked teams.
Despite battling foul and injury trouble, Iowa State ultimately won the battle in the desert to claim its first ranked win of the season. The Cyclones led for the majority of the first half, holding a lead by as large as ten, before SU trimmed it down and made it a contest. A free-flowing, tightly contested first half turned into a rugged, physical scrap in the second stanza.
The Cyclones got big-time mileage from their top-three returners, as Tamin Lipsey (16, Joshua Jefferson (17) and Milan Momcilovic (23) combined to score 56 of the team's 83 points. Jefferson finished with a team-high eight boards, while Lipsey dished out a Cyclone-best five assists.
Four Johnnies finished in double figures, with guard Oziyah Sellers leading the way with 20. Sellers canned five of SJU's seven triples, shooting 5-of-6 from deep. Big men Bryce Hopkins and Zuby Ejiofor each had 16 as they caused problems in the paint for ISU. Dillon Mitchell finished with 12 points and a game-high nine boards.
ISU outshot St. John's from the floor, from deep, and from the charity stripe on the evening. The Johnnies took care of the ball, as ISU forced a season-low 10 turnovers. The Cyclones finished the game outrebounding the Red Storm (38-36) and also held the edge in second-chance points (22-18).
How it Happened
St. John's struck first, as ASU transfer Joson Sanon buried a triple to kick things off. ISU would nab a 7-5 lead just over two minutes in off a nasty stepback triple from Lipsey to wrestle away control. ISU's lead would balloon to ten points (25-15) by the 11:51 mark after a Dominick Nelson layup.
The Johnnies regrouped and Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino had his team ready to respond. St. John's would batten down on defense and finished the stanza on a 30-18 run to take a two-point lead into the break (45-43).
At the break, ISU had held St. John's to just 27 percent shooting from deep, but the Red Storm had forced four more turnovers than they'd committed and were owning both the second chance points (12-6) and points in the paint (24-14) as ISU was limited to just five points off of two steals.
The Cyclones started the second half strong, taking the lead just 50 seconds in, 47-45, forcing a Pitino timeout. Iowa State saw its lead grow to as many as seven in the second half before SJU started to whittle it away, tying things up by the 10:32 mark.
Battling foul trouble (Buchanan with four, five others with three), ISU didn't fold on defense, continuing to battle and hold its own. The next four minutes were owned by St John's, as it held on to a four-point lead for a bit before ISU eventually tied things back up at 6:01.
 With 3:07 left, the Cyclones found themselves up five, but a pair of consecutive Sellers triples put SJU back in front. At the same time, ISU standout point guard Tamin Lipsey had to exit with an injury as the team attempted to overcome the one-point deficit down the stretch without its leader.
Buchanan and Jefferson had some outstanding defensive series, walling up on SJU bigs, as Momcilovic would give ISU the lead on a running hook layup with 1:55 left. A pair of Jefferson free throws made it a three-point lead as the Johnnies got one final look, down 83-30, with ten seconds left. An Ejiofor triple fell short and a putback wasn't enough as ISU pulled off the ranked win in Vegas.
Key Performer
Milan Momcilovic lit it up for the Cyclones, showing out on the big stage. Momcilovic finished with a game-high 23 points, canning five triples. He went 8-13 from the floor and was perfect from the charity stripe, as he consistently provided an outside threat for ISU.
Notes
- T.J.'s 100th win as the head coach at Iowa State makes him the sixth coach in program history to reach the mark.
- It was also his 19th win on neutral court, tied for fourth in school history.
- Tamin Lipsey tied Rahshon Clark for 11th in school history with his 108th career start on the day.
- Joshua Jefferson earned his 50th victory as a starter in his 100th career game played.
- He now sits three boards shy of 300 as a Cyclone.
- Milan Momcilovic passed Donovan Jackson for the 12th-most made 3-pointers in school history as he sits with 142.
- Momcilovic went over 800 career points at ISU.
- Blake Buchanan eclipsed 300 career rebounds.
Up Next
The Cyclones will face Creighton tomorrow, Nov. 24, at 1 p.m. CT in the second game of the Players Era Championship. The game will be broadcast on truTV as ISU tries to avenge an exhibition loss in Omaha earlier in October.
Team Stats
IowaSt
SJU
FG%
.435
.433
3FG%
.409
.350
FT%
.800
.767
RB
38
36
TO
11
10
STL
3
4
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballMBB Highlights vs St. Johns
Monday, November 24
Joshua Jefferson 11_20_25 interview
Thursday, November 20
Dominick Nelson 11_20_25 interview
Thursday, November 20
TJ Otzelberger 11_20_25 interview
Thursday, November 20
