Iowa State's Second-Half Surge Sinks Cowboys 83-71

Midway through the first half, dead silence struck Hilton Coliseum. 

As Oklahoma State jumped out to an early 9-point advantage, fans sporting red and gold grew more weary by the minute. All that could go in the Cowboys’ favor seemingly did, much to the dismay of the home crowd. 

That was until the Cyclone offense ignited. 

Saturday’s outing between OSU and No. 3 Iowa State could be best described as a tale of discrepancies. Early domination from the Cowboys swiftly evolved into an average afternoon at Hilton. ISU’s trio of Milan Momcilovic, Joshua Jefferson and Termain Lipsey combined for 48 points in OSU’s 83-71 loss to the Cyclones.

After taking a 2-point advantage into halftime, ISU opened the second half on a 13-4 run and never let up. Not even a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double from center Parsa Fallah or 19 points from guard Anthony Roy was enough for OSU to overcome the sheer surplus of talent within ISU’s rotation. 

As Lutz has often stated throughout the season, college basketball’s premier teams find ways to win. Although OSU showed it can compete with the Big 12’s best, Saturday was further evidence of the gap between Lutz’s team and those of ISU’s caliber. 

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Milan Momcilovic takeover tarnishes OSU’s hopes of a victory

With two seconds remaining on the shot clock, Momcilovic collected the ball.

As a pair of Cowboys (13-3, 1-2 Big 12) huddled around him, Momcilovic took two dribbles toward the right corner of the arc. He had no choice, but to hoist up an off-balanced shot. So, he did.

Momcilovic watched as the ball swished through the hoop, sending Hilton Coliseum into a frenzy and giving the Cyclones a lead late in the first half they wouldn’t relinquish.

On ISU’s ensuing possession, Momcilovic one-upped his previous make. 

Even with Fallah’s hand in his face, Momcilovic drained a turn-around, fade-away shot, seemingly with relative ease with 0:47 remaining in the half. The Cyclones (16-0, 3-0 Big 12) took a 42-40 lead into halftime and dominated from that point on. 

It was a precise emulation of the afternoon. OSU defenders limited Momcilovic’s open shot attempts for most of the game, but that quickly became an afterthought as his point total piled up. As the game progressed, the ISU star forward became more dominant, finishing with 18 points while opening scoring opportunities for other players. 

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Most notably, Cyclones’ guard Joshua Jefferson found his groove late, finishing with 19, while freshman Killyan Toure joined in with 12.

During his weekly media availability, OSU coach Steve Lutz emphasized the vitality behind containing Momcilovic. And while the Cowboys did so early on, it didn’t last and Momcilovic’s dynamic proved to be too much to overcome in the end. 

Cowboys fail to contain Termain Lipsey down the stretch

Widely regarded as ISU’s closer, Lipsey adhered to his pedigree. 

The Cowboys threatened with a couple small runs late in the game, but Lipsey put a damper on all of those with clutch shots. And the dagger of the came during his final act.

With 4:40 remaining in the game, OSU had trimmed ISU’s advantage to 6. But a Lipsey transition 3 seemingly deflated the Cowboys of any momentum. 

And scoring wasn’t the only element of Lipsey’s late-game dominance. A few late assists ultimately put the game out of reach for the Cowboys as Lipsey finished with 11 points and four assists, fulfilling his reputation as one of ISU’s more renowned clutch prospects. 

Cyclones dominate OSU in the paint

One stat Lutz highlighted heading into Saturday was points in the paint.

The Cowboys started off strong in that area, that efficiency was unmatched in the second half. OSU was outscored 38-24 in the paint, and it didn’t come from the aid of ISU’s centers.

Blow-by opportunities and open shot attempts from Momcilovic, Jefferson and Lipsey made up most of ISU’s scoring in the paint. While OSU competed alongside a conference juggernaut for most of the way, two areas Lutz had placed immense emphasis on patching hindered OSU’s chances of finalizing an upset win. And in the end, old woes resurfaced for the Cowboys and proved to be costly.

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