Cyclones Beat Cincinnati In Opening Game, 76-56

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Four Cyclones reached double figures as fifth-seeded and No. 12-ranked Iowa State (24-8) defeated 13^th-seeded Cincinnati, 76-56, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at T-Mobile Center.

Joshua Jefferson paced the Cyclone offense with 19 points, while Tamin Lipsey added 16 points. Milan Momcilovic (13) and Dishon Jackson (10) also reached double-digits for the Cyclones, who shot 54 percent from the floor and made 10-of-21 three-pointers.

Cincinnati (18-15) shot just 33 percent from the field in the game and Iowa State held a 40-22 edge on the glass.

How it Happened
Iowa State took a 33-24 lead into the break behind stifling defense that held the Bearcats to just 30 percent shooting.

The Cyclones opened up a 7-2 lead out of the gates and extended the lead to as many as 13 points with 2:32 left in the first half, holding Cincinnati without a field goal for more than a six-minute stretch late in the opening stanza. Momcilovic had the hot hand in the opening half, hitting 3-of-4 from long distance and scoring 11 points.

Iowa State overcame some early turnovers in the second half as the Bearcats cut the lead down to just three points at 43-40. The Cyclones responded with a 6-0 run and pushed the lead back to 62-50 at the 7:09 mark, eventually pushing the lead back to as many as 20 points.

Lipsey connected on three second-half three-pointers as the Cyclones weathered the run.

Top Performers
Jefferson led the Cyclones in scoring and his fellow big man Dishon Jackson recorded a double-double with 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. It was his second double-double of the season.

Lipsey finished 5-for-8 from the field and 3-for-5 from behind the arc.

Jizzle James paced the Bearcats with 17 points, while Josh Reed chipped in 10.

Notes

T.J. Otzelberger earned his fifth win in the Big 12 Championship, passing Larry Eustachy for fifth in program history.
ISU has won four straight games in the Big 12 Championship, the second-longest streak in school history (Six from 2014-15).
Iowa State is 7-3 all-time as the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 Championship.
Milan Momcilovic joined Georges Niang, Monté Morris and Naz Mitrou-Long as Cyclones to have 10-plus triples at the Big 12 Championship.
- Moved to 18^th most triples in program history (117)
Tamin Lipsey now has the third-most assists in a career for a Cyclone at the Big 12 Championship.
- Tamin now has the tenth most steals in a single season (66)
- Lipsey passed Cyclone legend Georges Niang for the tenth-most assists in program history (423)
- Lipsey moves into a tie for the 32nd most career points in ISU history (1,032 w/ Terry Woods)
Curtis Jones is now tied for the 14th-most triples in a single season in program history (76)
Joshua Jefferson now has the ninth most steals in a single season (67)
- Eclipsed 400 points on the season
The 2024-25 team now has the fourth-most steals in a single season in program history
The 2024-25 team is now tied for the sixth-most wins in a single season in program history

Up Next
Iowa State returns to action tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. against the fourth-seed BYU Cougars.

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Team Stats

Joshua Jefferson

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Dishon Jackson

Players Mentioned

Dishon Jackson

Joshua Jefferson

Curtis Jones

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Players Mentioned

Dishon Jackson

Joshua Jefferson

Curtis Jones

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

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