After a week off, a refreshed No. 4 Iowa State hosts Long Beach State on Sunday in Ames, Iowa.
Last Sunday, the Cyclones (11-0) rolled to a 78-53 home win over Eastern Illinois then took a break for finals.
Milan Momcilovic scored 18 points to lead a balanced scoring effort that saw four players post double-figure efforts. Blake Buchanan added 14 points, Joshua Jefferson scored 11 points and Killyan Toure chipped in 10 points.
“There’s such a thing during a season as having time to have tremendous focus,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “You’ve got to take your mindset away from basketball and we had final exams. Our guys did a great job with that and with getting their bodies recovered. We had a lot of banged up bodies on Sunday against Eastern Illinois. Guys were sore and weren’t moving as well. I think as much as getting back to the practice court, it’s getting away from it and getting your bodies to feel right.”
Jefferson and Momcilovic each score 17.5 points per game to lead the Cyclones. Because his sharp shooting from the outside opens up the floor for the Iowa State offense, Otzelberger encourages Momcilovic, a junior forward, to seek out scoring opportunities.
“We want him to continue to hunt every opportunity and we know the numbers will work themselves out,” said the fifth-year Iowa State coach. ” I think the consistency and mental focus to stay on the hunt is important for him. When he’s out there having fun is when we are at our absolute best.”
Buchanan is another force for the Cyclones. A two-way player, Buchanan’s (9.1 points and 5.7 rebounds) contributions are measured by more than statistics.
“Blake is terrific, there’s never a question about effort,” Otzelberger said. “With him, he’s relentless and he’s tough. He has the ability to help us generate offense with his skill, his passing and his decision making. He’s also a lob threat at the rim and his offensive rebounding is tremendous. Defensively his activity level and the plays he makes. … Blake is an absolute warrior.”
Long Beach State (3-9) knocked off Pepperdine 81-78 on Thursday behind Gavin Sykes who scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half. Petar Majstorovic contributed 20 points and reserve guard Shaquil Bender added 12 points for the Beach.
“I’m really just staying the course out there,” Sykes said. “Coach harps on me everyday, if the situation is for me to score then that’s just what I have to do.”
As a freshman guard, Sykes (17.6 points) paces the Beach on a nightly basis and Majstorovic (14.3) is second on the team in scoring. Long Beach State coach Chris Acker lauded Sykes’ playmaking ability.
“You put the ball in the dude’s hands (Sykes) and he makes plays,” Acker said. “We are at our best when (he and Majstorovic) are making plays. For Gavin to do what he’s doing as a freshman is tremendous.”
–Field Level Media
