AMES − Jackson State entered Sunday’s contest against Iowa State men’s basketball without a victory and it did not play most of its usual starters, but the Cyclones hardly showed any sympathy.
Iowa State thrashed the visiting Tigers in wire-to-wire fashion at Hilton Coliseum, 100-58, a game in which the Cyclones edged their foe in every team statistical category. And they’ll still be the first to tell you there’s still room for improvement.
“We’re coming out of four games with really high magnitude and certainly, you want to make sure that every game, you respect every opponent, you’re at your very best − were we perfect at that? Probably not,” Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “Were there things we could have learned better? Certainly − finishing some plays on the glass, first to the basketball, contesting some shots − no question about it. Overall, pleased with the way we shared the basketball, the way we got out in transition. There was some good things defensively.”
The Cyclones raced to a 22-6 lead within the first nine minutes of the game and were in control throughout. They were unrelenting on both ends of the court.
Curtis Jones came off the bench and led all Cyclone scorers with 19 points. He went 5-of-10 from the three-point line and dished out five assists. Four other players scored in double figures in the team-wide effort.
Milan Momcilovic had 18 points and shot 4-of-6 from long range. Dishon Jackson had 17 points. He went 4-for-4 and shot 9-of-11 from the free-throw line. Keshon Gilbert chipped in 16 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Joshua Jefferson posted his second straight double-double. He finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Tamin Lipsey had five points on 2-of-4 shooting, but he racked up nine assists and had no turnovers.
“A lot of guys gained confidence today watching the ball go through the net,” Jones said.
Iowa State led, 46-24, at halftime. The Cyclones led by as many as 42 points.
“With our team, we talk all the time about balance, but it’s not necessarily by design,” Otzelberger said. “It’s because there’s a lot of guys that can score the ball, so to get their confidence up to see the ball go through the basket, that’s always a positive thing, regardless, so that was good.”
Dorian McMillan led Jackson State with 20 points. Juan Reyna III had 15 points, five boards and six assists.
Iowa State shot 34-of-67 (50.7%) overall and 11-for-28 (39.3%) from long range.
The Cyclones improved to 7-1 and will return to action against rival Iowa on Thursday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
