Joshua Jefferson led five Iowa State players in double-figure scoring with 19 points, and the eighth-ranked Cyclones crushed Kansas State 95-61 Sunday in Manhattan, Kan.
It was the fourth straight win for the Cyclones (20-2, 7-2) and continued their best start in school history.
Jefferson added eight rebounds as Iowa State outrebounded Kansas State 39-24. Milan Momcilovic poured in 18 points on 5-of-9 3-point shooting, while Tamin Lipsey scored 16 with nine assists, Killyan Toure scored 13 and Nate Heise added 11 for the Cyclones, who secured their third 30-plus point win in four games (87-57 vs. UCF and 97-67 vs. Colorado).
The Cyclones led for all but 21 seconds, as Iowa State outshot Kansas State 55% to 40.3% and was 51.9% (14 of 27) from 3-point range. The visitors earned 28 assists on 33 made field goals.
The Wildcats offered little resistance in falling to 10-12 and 1-8 in the Big 12.
P.J. Haggerty, the nation’s fifth-leading scorer, led all scorers with 23 points and added nine rebounds, with much of that coming after the break. David Castillo had 11 points.
The outcome was nearly decided before halftime. After falling behind 4-2 early, the Cyclones ripped off runs of 12-0, 13-0 and 12-2 to open up a 49-17 lead with 2:20 to play in the half.
Jefferson punctuated the first run with a 3-pointer at 15:16 that made it 14-4, then did the same with the final run with a trey that provided a 32-point margin.
Lipsey (11), Heise (11) and Jefferson (10) each reached double figures before halftime, as Iowa State built a comfortable 50-21 advantage at the break.
Iowa State shot 58.1% in the first half, including 56.3% (9 of 16) from 3-point range, while holding Kansas State to just 31% from the field. The Cyclones outrebounded the Wildcats 22-12 and had 13 points off turnovers.
The Wildcats were once again short-handed, playing without Abdi Bashir Jr., Khamari McGriff, Elias Rapieque and Mobi Ikegwuruka.
–Field Level Media
