Iowa State men’s basketball beats Washington State to advance to NCAA Sweet 16

OMAHA, Neb. — Iowa State “chief energy officer” Conrad Hawley locked eyes with Keshon Gilbert and nodded emphatically. Gilbert — the Cyclones’ standout junior guard — nodded back and said, “I know, I know.”

Gilbert had just completed a three-point play Saturday against Washington State — and it ignited a 9-0 run that helped propel ISU to a 67-56 second-round NCAA men’s basketball ournament victory over the Cougars at CHI Health Center Arena.

The second-seeded Cyclones advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years. They will play the winner of Saturday’s late game between No. 3 seed Illinois and 11th-seeded Duquesne in Boston.

Sophomore point guard Tamin Lipsey scored 15 points to lead ISU (29-7). Curtis Jones added 14 points, and Gilbert and freshman forward Milan Momcilovic sprinkled in 10 points apiece for the Cyclones, who outscored the seventh-seeded Cougars, 21-4, in points off turnovers.

Washington State raced to a 7-0 early lead as ISU struggled to get good looks offensively. The Cyclones sank just one of their first 14 field goal attempts — a Jones 3-pointer — one game after starting 9-for-9 from the field in their first-round win over South Dakota State.

The Cougars’ length bothered the Cyclones, who got on track offensively with strong drives and finishes by Gilbert and Lipsey. The duo scored 14 points in a row during one first-half flurry that briefly gave ISU a one-point lead. That razor-thin advantage lasted all of 24 seconds as the Cyclones struggled to contain Cougars forward Jaylen Wells, who scored 16 points before the break and finished with a game-high 20.

ISU closed the first half with Jones’ second 3-pointer and an alley-oop layup by Hason Ward to tie the score at 27-27 despite its early shooting woes.

The Cyclones shot just 31 percent in the first half, but outscored Washington State 10-2 in points off of turnovers before the break.

Lipsey and Gilbert scored seven points apiece in the opening 20 minutes and Jones added six points. Ward tallied four points — both on alley-oop plays that raised loud cheers from the throng of ISU fans who turned the arena into “Hilton West.”

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