No. 2 seed Iowa State uses big runs to start each half and bury South Dakota State, 82-65
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) T.J. Otzelberger was none too pleased with Iowa State's first-round draw in the NCAA Tournament, not because the coach thought his Big 12 tourney champs had done enough to warrant a No. 1 seed but because of who the Cyclones would face Thursday night.
South Dakota State, the school that gave him his big break as a college head coach, and Eric Henderson, who was his top assistant back in those days and has kept the Jackrabbits on the winning track in his place.
“Didn't like the matchup when it came out. Didn't want to play those guys,” Otzelberger admitted, shortly after the Cyclones put together big runs to start each half of an 82-65 victory. “I care about a lot of people on their side, dear friends, so yeah, there's that part of it.”
“At the same time,” Otzelberger said, “proud of our guys. They did the hard work. They worked for this opportunity.”
Milan Momcilovic looked nothing like a freshman while pouring in 19 points for the Cyclones. Tamin Lipsey had 17 with seven assists, and Keshon Gilbert finished with 15 points, helping them avenge an embarrassing first-round loss to Pittsburgh a year ago. They advanced to a second-round matchup with seventh-seeded Washington State in the East Region.
“We don't get to control who we play,” Otzelberger said. “We just need to be prepared and ready to rise to the challenge.”
South Dakota State (22-13) showed plenty of gumption after allowing Iowa State to open on a 17-3 run, cutting the deficit in half by the break. But the Cyclones blitzed the Jackrabbits to start the second half, too, going on a 14-5 run to pull away.
Zeke Mayo hit four 3s and had 19 points for South Dakota State, which has given plenty of NCAA Tournament teams scares over the years but remains winless in seven tries at March Madness. William Kyle III added 14 points and Charlie Easley finished with 11.
“I hope T.J. wins a national championship,” said Henderson, who shared a high-five and a hug with him at game's end, “and then I saw the pairings and hoped he would lose in the first round. Now, I hope he wins the national championship again.”
The Cyclones were coming off a blowout of then-No. 1 Houston in the most lopsided Big 12 title game ever, and it looked as if Gilbert - that tourney's MVP - and his teammates picked up right where they left off. The Cyclones made life miserable for South Dakota State with their relentless defense, and they kept turning every steal and loose ball into easy layups at the other end.
Or dunks. Hason Ward threw down alley-oops from three different teammates on three straight possessions on that big early run.
“The way he can get them from 12 feet, and our guys look for them, is special,” Otzelberger said.
The Jackrabbits eventually bounced back, getting their own highlight dunk in the process: Matt Mims, the lone player left from Otzelberger's tenure at South Dakota State, heaved a pass from the midcourt line that Kyle threw down to an audible gasp from the crowd.
When Mayo scored just before halftime, the Summit League champs were within 40-33 with momentum on their side.
“We fought back,” Mayo said. “We fought really hard.”
The Jackrabbits just didn't have enough.
The bigger, deeper and much faster Cyclones did exactly what they did to start the game to start the second half, putting together another run out of the locker room to rebuild their cushion. And this time, they never let off the gas the rest of the way.
Ward even threw down a fourth alley-oop dunk to put an exclamation mark on the win.
“We start fast, come out of the box, we play off our defense - we did that to start the game,” Otzelberger said. “We did that to start the second half. That's who we are. That's who we will continue to be. When we do that, we can play at a really high level.”
UP NEXT
Iowa State will be playing Washington State for the first time on Saturday. The Cougars advanced with a come-from-behind win over Drake, getting 20 points from Isaac Jones and 17 from Jaylen Wells in their 66-61 victory.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | (Jackrabbits gains possession) | |||
19:42 | Charlie Easley misses three point jump shot | |||
19:40 | Tre King defensive rebound | |||
19:15 | +2 | Keshon Gilbert makes two point jump shot | 0-2 | |
18:49 | Luke Appel misses three point jump shot | |||
18:47 | Tre King defensive rebound | |||
18:30 | +3 | Milan Momcilovic makes three point jump shot (Tamin Lipsey assists) | 0-5 | |
17:59 | Zeke Mayo misses three point jump shot | |||
17:57 | Milan Momcilovic defensive rebound | |||
17:41 | +2 | Milan Momcilovic makes two point jump shot | 0-7 | |
17:22 | +3 | Matt Mims makes three point jump shot (Zeke Mayo assists) | 3-7 | |
16:59 | +3 | Tamin Lipsey makes three point jump shot (Tre King assists) | 3-10 | |
16:50 | Charlie Easley turnover (lost ball) (Keshon Gilbert steals) | |||
16:45 | +2 | Keshon Gilbert makes two point layup | 3-12 | |
16:45 | Luke Appel shooting foul (Keshon Gilbert draws the foul) | |||
16:45 | +1 | Keshon Gilbert makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 3-13 | |
16:10 | Zeke Mayo turnover (lost ball) (Keshon Gilbert steals) | |||
16:03 | +2 | Hason Ward makes two point alley-oop dunk (Keshon Gilbert assists) | 3-15 | |
15:52 | Curtis Jones personal foul | |||
15:52 | TV timeout | |||
15:33 | Hason Ward blocks William Kyle III's two point jump shot | |||
15:31 | Tamin Lipsey defensive rebound | |||
15:15 | +2 | Hason Ward makes two point alley-oop dunk (Tamin Lipsey assists) | 3-17 | |
14:50 | +2 | Matthew Mors makes two point layup (William Kyle III assists) | 5-17 | |
14:26 | +2 | Hason Ward makes two point alley-oop dunk (Curtis Jones assists) | 5-19 | |
14:26 | Matthew Mors shooting foul (Hason Ward draws the foul) | |||
14:26 | Hason Ward misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
14:26 | Charlie Easley defensive rebound | |||
14:17 | +2 | Charlie Easley makes two point jump shot | 7-19 | |
14:17 | Tamin Lipsey personal foul | |||
14:14 | Tre King personal foul | |||
13:54 | Charlie Easley misses three point jump shot | |||
13:52 | Luke Appel offensive rebound | |||
13:47 | Luke Appel misses two point layup | |||
13:45 | Tre King defensive rebound | |||
13:31 | +3 | Tamin Lipsey makes three point jump shot (Milan Momcilovic assists) | 7-22 | |
13:17 | Matthew Mors turnover (bad pass) (Curtis Jones steals) | |||
13:11 | Tamin Lipsey turnover (bad pass) (Zeke Mayo steals) | |||
13:03 | Luke Appel turnover (traveling) | |||
12:50 | Keshon Gilbert turnover (lost ball) (Charlie Easley steals) | |||
12:48 | Robert Jones blocks Kalen Garry's two point layup | |||
12:46 | Jackrabbits offensive rebound | |||
12:41 | +3 | Zeke Mayo makes three point jump shot (William Kyle III assists) | 10-22 | |
12:12 | Kalen Garry personal foul | |||
12:00 | Keshon Gilbert misses two point jump shot | |||
11:58 | Kalen Garry defensive rebound | |||
11:45 | +2 | William Kyle III makes two point layup | 12-22 | |
11:24 | Milan Momcilovic misses three point jump shot | |||
11:22 | William Kyle III defensive rebound | |||
11:13 | Zeke Mayo misses two point jump shot | |||
11:11 | Milan Momcilovic defensive rebound | |||
11:04 | Keshon Gilbert turnover (lost ball) | |||
11:04 | TV timeout | |||
10:55 | +2 | William Kyle III makes two point dunk (Charlie Easley assists) | 14-22 | |
10:40 | Hason Ward offensive foul | |||
10:40 | Hason Ward turnover (offensive foul) | |||
10:09 | Keshon Gilbert shooting foul (Zeke Mayo draws the foul) | |||
10:09 | +1 | Zeke Mayo makes regular free throw 1 of 3 | 15-22 | |
10:09 | +1 | Zeke Mayo makes regular free throw 2 of 3 | 16-22 | |
10:09 | +1 | Zeke Mayo makes regular free throw 3 of 3 | 17-22 | |
9:53 | +3 | Milan Momcilovic makes three point jump shot (Keshon Gilbert assists) | 17-25 | |
9:40 | +2 | William Kyle III makes two point layup | 19-25 | |
9:25 | Charlie Easley personal foul | |||
9:14 | +2 | Milan Momcilovic makes two point jump shot | 19-27 | |
8:50 | Zeke Mayo turnover (lost ball) (Keshon Gilbert steals) | |||
8:46 | +2 | Keshon Gilbert makes two point dunk | 19-29 | |
8:20 | Charlie Easley misses three point jump shot | |||
8:18 | Nate Barnhart offensive rebound | |||
8:12 | Charlie Easley misses two point layup | |||
8:10 | Charlie Easley offensive rebound | |||
8:06 | Keshon Gilbert personal foul | |||
8:01 | Kalen Garry turnover (bad pass) | |||
7:50 | Robert Jones misses two point jump shot | |||
7:48 | Luke Appel defensive rebound | |||
7:32 | +3 | Luke Appel makes three point jump shot | 22-29 | |
7:08 | +2 | Milan Momcilovic makes two point jump shot | 22-31 | |
6:49 | +2 | Kalen Garry makes two point layup (William Kyle III assists) | 24-31 | |
6:29 | Tre King turnover (bad pass) | |||
6:29 | TV timeout | |||
6:11 | Luke Appel misses two point jump shot | |||
6:09 | Cyclones defensive rebound | |||
5:41 | Milan Momcilovic misses three point jump shot | |||
5:39 | Luke Appel defensive rebound | |||
5:32 | +2 | William Kyle III makes two point dunk (Zeke Mayo assists) | 26-31 | |
5:12 | Curtis Jones misses two point jump shot | |||
5:10 | Hason Ward offensive rebound | |||
5:04 | +3 | Curtis Jones makes three point jump shot (Hason Ward assists) | 26-34 | |
4:40 | Jump ball. Luke Appel vs. Tre King (Tre King gains possession) | |||
4:40 | Luke Appel turnover (lost ball) (Tre King steals) | |||
4:29 | Tamin Lipsey misses three point jump shot | |||
4:27 | William Kyle III defensive rebound | |||
4:14 | Curtis Jones blocks Zeke Mayo's two point layup | |||
4:12 | Hason Ward defensive rebound | |||
4:12 | Kalen Garry personal foul | |||
3:59 | +2 | Hason Ward makes two point dunk (Tamin Lipsey assists) | 26-36 | |
3:45 | Matt Mims turnover (lost ball) (Curtis Jones steals) | |||
3:41 | +2 | Tamin Lipsey makes two point layup (Curtis Jones assists) | 26-38 | |
3:22 | Luke Appel misses three point jump shot | |||
3:20 | William Kyle III offensive rebound | |||
3:18 | William Kyle III misses two point layup | |||
3:16 | Matt Mims offensive rebound | |||
3:11 | +2 | Luke Appel makes two point jump shot (Charlie Easley assists) | 28-38 | |
2:56 | Tamin Lipsey misses two point jump shot | |||
2:54 | Zeke Mayo defensive rebound | |||
2:35 | William Kyle III turnover (bad pass) (Demarion Watson steals) | |||
2:26 | Curtis Jones misses three point jump shot | |||
2:24 | William Kyle III defensive rebound | |||
2:05 | Luke Appel misses three point jump shot | |||
2:03 | Hason Ward defensive rebound | |||
1:54 | Cyclones 30 second timeout | |||
1:54 | TV timeout | |||
1:37 | Curtis Jones misses two point jump shot | |||
1:35 | Jackrabbits defensive rebound | |||
1:10 | +3 | Zeke Mayo makes three point jump shot (Matt Mims assists) | 31-38 | |
0:43 | +2 | Tre King makes two point layup (Robert Jones assists) | 31-40 | |
0:16 | +2 | Zeke Mayo makes two point jump shot | 33-40 | |
0:01 | Milan Momcilovic misses three point jump shot | |||
0:00 | Jackrabbits defensive rebound | |||
0:00 | End of period |
Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
19:39 | +3 | Matt Mims makes three point jump shot (Charlie Easley assists) | 36-40 | |
19:24 | +2 | Tamin Lipsey makes two point layup (Milan Momcilovic assists) | 36-42 | |
19:07 | Matt Mims misses three point jump shot | |||
19:05 | Tre King defensive rebound | |||
18:50 | Keshon Gilbert turnover (bad pass) (Luke Appel steals) | |||
18:29 | +2 | William Kyle III makes two point jump shot (Luke Appel assists) | 38-42 | |
18:22 | Charlie Easley personal foul | |||
18:14 | Charlie Easley personal foul | |||
18:10 | Luke Appel personal foul | |||
17:56 | +3 | Milan Momcilovic makes three point jump shot (Tamin Lipsey assists) | 38-45 | |
17:36 | Robert Jones blocks Zeke Mayo's two point layup | |||
17:34 | Keshon Gilbert defensive rebound | |||
17:32 | +2 | Keshon Gilbert makes two point layup | 38-47 | |
17:32 | William Kyle III shooting foul (Keshon Gilbert draws the foul) | |||
17:32 | Keshon Gilbert misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
17:32 | Luke Appel defensive rebound | |||
17:16 | Kalen Garry misses two point layup | |||
17:14 |