No. 15 Iowa State pounds Syracuse, 95-64, to go 3-0 in Las Vegas

It happened with 5:50 remaining.

No. 15 Iowa State was putting the finishing touches on a thorough dismantling of Syracuse, and star forward Joshua Jefferson drove into the paint, put up a baby hook shot and … it rimmed out.

No big deal — even though his team hadn’t missed a two-point shot in the second half up to that point. Blake Buchanan got the putback layup, Jefferson gave him a high-five, and the Cyclones (7-0) crushed the Orange, 95-64, on Wednesday to finish 3-0 in the stacked Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.

“Our standard’s always been high for ourselves,” Jefferson told the TNT broadcast crew after becoming the first ISU player since Tyrese Haliburton to notch a points/assists double-double (13 points, a career-high 10 assists). “We do hard stuff, you know? We’re gonna go out there and try to win every game that we can.”

The Cyclones — who played without injured star guard Tamin Lipsey for the second straight time — won’t lose many games if they can replicate their performance in the final 20 minutes against Syracuse. They made 18 of their first 21 shots from the field overall in the second half, and outscored the Orange, 60-30, after eking out a one-point lead at halftime.

“Our guys did such a good job coming out of the locker room and executing (the defensive) plan and going on a run right away, setting a tone for that half,” ISU head coach T.J. Otzelberger said on the Cyclone Radio Network.

Milan Momcilovic led the Cyclones with 24 points and drilled six 3-pointers. He’s drained five or more shots from beyond the arc three times this season.

“He’s got a tremendous amount of confidence,” Otzelberger said. “HIs teammates are looking for him, which is great.”

So is Jefferson, who’s one of nine players in Big 12 history to score at least 13 points while totaling 10 or more assists in a single game.

“Coming away with three wins is the most important thing,” he said. “I’m happy with how we played.”

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