AMES − Now, the real fun begins.
Iowa State men’s basketball closed out non-conference play with a win over visiting Morgan State on Sunday afternoon. The Cyclones crushed the Bears, 99-72. With the victory, they also went undefeated at Hilton Coliseum during the 2024 calendar year.
Tamin Lipsey led the Cyclones with 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting with five assists and three steals. Curtis Jones had 19 points and six assists off the bench. He also had a block where he stuffed a Morgan State dunk attempt from behind. Keshon Gilbert had 18 points on an efficient 8-of-9 clip, with seven assists. Dishon Jackson finished with 12 points, five blocks and two steals.
Joshua Jefferson recorded his fourth double-double in the last five games. He had 11 points and 12 rebounds, as well as three blocks and two steals in the winning effort. Milan Momcilovic chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Cyclones scored a season-high 50 first-half points. They took a 50-34 halftime lead and they were unrelenting for the remainder of the game.
Iowa State shot 18-of-27 (66.7%) in the second half and led by as many as 27 points.
Overall for the game, the Cyclones shot 36-of-59 (61.0%) overall and 7-of-20 (35.0%) from the three-point line.
After a promising 17-3 blitz to start the game, the Cyclones were sluggish on both ends of the court for a chunk of the first half. Morgan State didn’t have enough firepower to overtake Iowa State and never led, but it was able to hang around. The Bears trimmed the deficit down to a two-possession game, when a Kameron Hobbs basket made it a 20-16 game with 10:15 remaining.
The Bears were strong on the glass early on and outrebounded the Cyclones through the first 12 minutes of the game. They generated some solid drives to the basket and made a few finishes in traffic. Iowa State hit a couple of early-game shooting droughts, but it ramped up the effort on both ends of the court in the closing minutes of the first half.
Jackson and Jefferson each drilled a series of free throws to spark a 13-2 run that was capped off by a pair of Jones free throws to give Iowa State a 39-25 lead with 4:37 left in the first half. The Cyclones’ lead never dipped down to single digits after that.
For Morgan State, Kameron Hobbs had a game-high 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting, with four steals. Amahrie Simpkins added 18 points and eight rebounds.
The Bears shot 29-of-63 (46.0%) overall and 4-of-9 from deep.
Iowa State improved to 10-1 and will play its final game of 2024 on Monday, Dec. 30, when it opens Big 12 play on the road against Colorado. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT. The Cyclones have already beaten the Buffaloes this season, 99-71 at the Maui Invitational, but that game did not count toward conference standings.
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State basketball: Cyclones top Morgan State
