Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Mississippi State on November 10, 2025 , Win , 96, to, 80
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Final
Men's Basketball
96
Mississippi State
80
Iowa State University Athletics
Wednesday, November 26
Las Vegas, Nev.
12 PM
Iowa State
7-0,0-0Big 12
95
vs
64
Syracuse
4-3,0-0ACC
1
2
F
Syracuse
34
30
64
Iowa St.
35
60
95
Photo by: Jeff Spaur
No. 15 ISU Blasts Syracuse in Players Era Finale
11.26.2025 | Men's Basketball
LAS VEGAS – Sin City was Win City for No. 15 Iowa State (7-0) this week, as the Cyclones finished the Players Era by blasting Syracuse (4-3) in each team's tournament finale, 95-64, to move to 3-0 on the week. The win pushed the Cyclones to their best start to a season since 2021-22 and ISU also moved to 10-4 in Feast Week action under T.J. Otzelberger.
Again without star point guard Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State overcame a contested first half to steamroll the Orange in the second stanza and pull away. Clinging to just a one-point lead at the break, ISU outscored Syracuse by 30 in the second period to earn its seventh-straight win.
Five Cyclones finished in double figures, with Milan Momcilovic leading the way for the second time this tournament with a game-high 24 points. Momcilovic canned six triples, his third time this year making at least five in a game. Killyan Toure (19), Joshua Jefferson (13), Blake Buchanan (12) and Dominick Nelson (12) rounded out the leading scorers for ISU. Jefferson, again, stuffed the stat sheet, pairing his 13 points with six boards, ten assists, a block and three steals. Momcilovic and Buchanan each had five rebounds, while Toure had six dimes.
Syracuse saw three athletes finish in double figures, with Sadiq White Jr. holding a team-best 14 points. JJ Starling and Tyler Betsey each had ten, while Naithan George led the team in assists with six. Kiyan Anthony, son of NBA Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony, finished with eight points.
The Cyclones outshot Syracuse from the floor (59% to 39%), as well as from beyond the arc (45% to 29%), holding the Orange without a 3-pointer in the second half. The Cyclones forced 19 turnovers, converting them into 30 points, and won the rebound battle. ISU again dominated the paint, outscoring the Orange 52-28.
How it Happened
ISU started the game stringing together solid defensive possessions, getting a steal during its first defensive possession. Syracuse countered ISU's early aggression by uncorking from deep, using the long ball to keep within the game.
A few lead changes later, the two teams found themselves knotted at 18 with 8:34 left in the first half. ISU used a quick 10-0 spark to try and put the Orange away, but Syracuse responded with a 10-0 run of its own to knot things up at 28-all with 4:22 to go.
The Cyclones would eventually head into the break up one, following six lead changes in the first stanza and 'Cuse knocking down eight triples. At half, Toure led the way with 12 points, while Momcilovic had eight for ISU. Jefferson had four points with four boards and five assists.
It was an avalanche of Cyclone scoring in the second stanza, as ISU went from up one to up 10 in under ten minutes of second-half action.
By the 7:22 mark, ISU was 17-20 from the field (with all three misses coming from deep), 7-8 from the charity stripe and had only turned the ball over once. At that point, the Cyclones led 80-50 and coasted from there. The win was ISU's fourth of 30-plus points this season.
Key Performer
Joshua Jefferson just fell short of a triple double in his hometown of Las Vegas, finishing with 13 points, six rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. He had a points/rebounds double-double against Creighton the game before and is now one of eight Cyclones in the Big 12 era to have both a points/rebounds and a points/assists double-double in the same season.
Notes
- Nate Heise went over 575 career rebounds.
- Joshua Jefferson recorded his 200th FG at Iowa State.
- Jefferson's career-high 10 assists came with zero turnovers. He's now just one of five Cyclones to ever have at least ten assists in a game with no turnovers.
- Dominick Nelson rejected his 25th career shot.
- Milan Momcilovic has now made100 career made free throws.
- He also cashed his 150th career triple on the day.
Up Next
The Cyclones will be back in action next Wednesday, Dec. 3, to kick off the new month with Alcorn State at Hilton Coliseum. Next week's action will begin at 7 p.m. and the contest will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
SU
IowaSt
FG%
.393
.590
3FG%
.286
.450
FT%
.632
.667
RB
31
32
TO
19
9
STL
6
13
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
6
FTM
2
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
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