Cyclone men rout Arizona

AMES (AP) — Another top-25 team goes down in Hilton Coliseum.

No. 9 Iowa State led by as many as 24 points in the second half in a convincing 84-67 victory over No. 22 Arizona Saturday night in Hilton Coliseum.

The win avenged a heartbreaking loss the Cyclones (22-7, 12-6 Big 12) suffered earlier this season at Arizona and it was the 25th victory over a top-25 opponent by head coach T.J. Otzelberger, the most by a Cyclone skipper in school history.

Iowa State built its large lead thanks to a season-high-tying 11 3-pointers on 21 attempts. On the flip side, the Wildcats made just 4-of-22 from beyond the arc.

The Cyclones were balanced offensively with five players scoring in double figures, led by Milan Momcilovic, who tallied 14 of his team-high 17 points in the first half.

ISU’s bench was sensational with Nate Heise and Curtis Jones, who was scoreless in the first half, recording 12 points each. Brandton Chatfield posted 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds and Tamin Lipsey added 15 points for the Cyclones. Jaden Bradley led Arizona with 18 points.

Both teams got off to slow starts. ISU made just 3-of-10 from the field to open the game and Arizona went through a 1-of-10 stretch.

The Cyclones began to heat up midway through the first half. First Heise buried a 3-pointer followed by a Lipsey trey, and the Cyclones held an 18-9 lead.

This started a stretch where ISU made eight-straight shots, including six 3-pointers, a trio coming from Momcilovic and another from Heise to give ISU a 32-17 lead with 6:17 left. A pair of treys by Caleb Love during the run was the only thing keeping the Wildcats in it.

Momcilovic kept stroking it, firing in his fourth 3-pointer of the first half to open up a 39-22 Cyclone lead with just over four minutes remaining. The Wildcats (19-10, 13-5 Big 12) then answered with six-straight points, but Lipsey responded with a four-point play when he was fouled on a 3-pointer at the top of the key.