No. 3 Iowa State shrugs off slow start to beat Oklahoma State, 83-71, at Hilton

AMES — When Joshua Jefferson and Milan Momcilovic lock eyes, expect fireworks.

The star Iowa State teammates’ connection is so strong, they seem to be operating in perfect unison — especially when Jefferson fully enters point-forward mode and finds Momcilovic on the perimeter.

“If they guard him with one guy, he’s gonna go score,” said Momcilovic, who teamed with Jefferson to score 37 points in the No. 3 Cyclones’ 83-71 win over plucky Oklahoma State on Saturday before a sellout crowd of 14,267 at Hilton Coliseum. “But if they double-team him, he’s gonna make the right play, and he found me a couple times there. He’s been finding me all year, so it’s really fun to play with him. It’s a joy.”

Three of Jefferson’s five assists found Momcilovic for eight points in a pivotal two and a half minute stretch in the first half. Two resulted in 3-pointers — including a logo-based deep ball that gave ISU (16-0, 3-0 Big 12) its first lead, 30-29, about six minutes before halftime. Momcilovic also drained a key 3-pointer falling sideways off an inbounds pass while going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. He scored 18 points to augment Jefferson’s team-high 19.

“Where I’m really happy is his aggressiveness, even in transition, when he got three free throws that really kind of got him going,” said Cyclone head coach T.J. Otzelberger, whose team improved on its best start in program history. “When he saw it go through, I think that was huge.”

The Cowboys (13-3, 1-2) led by as many as nine points in the first half and went on several mini runs in the second half to keep ISU from running away with the game. But rebounding proved to be Oklahoma State’s bane, as the Cyclones grabbed 36 boards to its 29, including a 9-to-3 edge on the offensive glass.

“We’ve got to figure out a way that when they miss shots, (we) rebound the basketball,” Cowboys head coach Steve Lutz said. “That was the difference in the game and that’s the mark of a good team, and they exploited us in that regard today.”

Case in point: ISU big man Blake Buchanan’s key five-minute barrage on the offensive boards while Oklahoma State stubbornly remained within striking distance. Buchanan scored putback baskets twice in that span to increase his team’s lead from six to eight points, then added another offensive rebound to extend a possession that resulted in two Killyan Toure free throws that put the Cyclones up 10, at 77-67, with 2:03 remaining.

“Blake had a monster second half,” Otzelberger said. “The lob that he went and caught — at, I don’t know, it felt like 12 feet — and finished it, was ridiculous. He’s a freak.”

Buchanan joined Jefferson, Momcilovic and two other teammates in double figures with 10 points. Toure played his best game in conference play by compiling a stat line of 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals, and senior star Tamin Lipsey made perhaps the biggest shot of the game when he drilled a 3-pointer with 4:40 remaining to put ISU back up by nine. He battled foul trouble for the second straight game and finished with 11 points and a game-high four steals.

“So proud of our guys to continue to fight through the challenges that we had to make enough plays to come out with the win,” Otzelberger said.

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