Early 21-0 run fuels No. 8 Iowa State's 97-67 rout of Colorado at Hilton

AMES — Iowa State’s relentless first-half run seemingly couldn’t be stopped.

Senior point guard Tamin Lipsey’s layup started it. Junior forward Milan Momcilovic’s 3-pointer stoked it. And a deep 3-pointer from backup freshman guard Jamarion Batemon capped it at 21-0.

The final result? A very comfortable 97-67 win for the No. 8 Cyclones over Colorado on Thursday night before a satisfied sellout crowd of 14,267 at Hilton Coliseum.

That scintillating 21-point splurge by ISU (19-2, 6-2 Big 12) spanned less than five minutes, but completely discombobulated the Buffaloes (12-9, 2-6), who lost their sixth straight game.

Batemon led the Cyclones with 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting. He also went 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. Milan Momcilovic added 16 points and six different ISU players scored in double figures. The Cyclones shot 61 percent from the field and 48 percent from the 3-point line to hand Colorado its first blowout loss of the season. The Buffaloes’ previous most lopsided setback had come by 11 points at West Virginia, but despite going on a 9-0 run they could never recover from the Cyclones’ early flourish.

That explosive and decisive spurt came after Colorado took an early 3-0 lead on a 3-pointer from Sebastian Rancik, the son of former Cyclone Martin Rancik.

But hustle plays rippled through the Cyclones’ rollicking run, including a loose ball push out from freshman guard Killyan Toure to Momcilovic for his first of two first-half 3-pointers. Batemon later converted a 4-point play after nailing one of his three 3-pointers before the break as ISU shot 54 percent from long distance (7-for-3) and 63 percent overall in the opening 20 minutes.

Next up for the Cyclones: A 1 p.m. matchup on Sunday at struggling Kansas State (10-8, 1-7), which has already suffered five losses at home this season. ISU has won four of the past five meetings with the Wildcats.

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