Milan Momcilovic scored 18 of his career-high 24 points in the first half and No. 5 Iowa State rolled to a 99-71 victory over Colorado in the fifth-place game of the Maui Invitational on Wednesday at Lahaina, Hawaii.
Curtis Jones scored 19 points and Keshon Gilbert had 15 with six assists as the Cyclones (5-1) rebounded to win consecutive games after a heartbreaking defeat to No. 4 Auburn in the first round. Tamin Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson and Dishon Jackson each scored 10 points.
The matchup between Big 12 Conference programs served as a preview of league play. Colorado will make its Big 12 debut Dec. 30 when it plays host to Iowa State at Boulder, Colo., with the teams slated to play a third scheduled game in February.
Julian Hammond III scored 20 points and Andrej Jakimovski added 18 for the Buffaloes (5-2), who were coming off a victory over No. 2 UConn in the second round of the tournament Tuesday.
Iowa State shot 60.3 percent from the floor and forced Colorado into 18 turnovers that the Cyclones turned into 37 points.
The game was tied at 22-22 with 8:19 remaining in the first half when Iowa State began to pull away. The Cyclones finished off a 10-0 run to take a 30-22 lead and an extended 15-2 run to hold a 35-24 lead with 3:43 left in the half.
Iowa State led 45-34 at halftime after Momcilovic shot 7 of 9 from the floor and 4 of 5 from 3-point range to score his 18 points. He finished 9 of 13 overall and 6 of 9 from long distance.
Colorado never got within single digits in the second half, coming as close as 52-42 with 16:49 remaining. Iowa State took its first 20-point lead at 68-48 with 11:58 remaining after a pair of free throws from Jones.
A Jones jumper with 4:10 remaining gave the Cyclones a 90-60 lead as Iowa State outscored Colorado 54-37 in the second half. The Buffaloes shot 41.8 percent from the floor in the game.
–Field Level Media
