Jamarion Bateman scored 17 points, Milan Momcilovic added 16 points, and No. 8 Iowa State raced out to a big lead early and cruised to a 97-67 win over Colorado in Ames, Iowa, on Thursday night.
Tamin Lipsey finished with 14 points, Joshua Jefferson added 13 points while Killian Toure and Dominykas Pleta contributed 12 points each for the Cyclones (19-2, 6-2 Big 12). Iowa State, which had its most points since putting up 132 against Alcorn State on Dec. 3, has won three straight after dropping games at Kansas and Cincinnati.
Freshman Isaiah Johnson led Colorado with 24 points, one shy of his season high, and Barrington Hargress scored 11 points. The Buffaloes (12-9, 2-6) have lost six in a row after beginning the conference season with two victories.
Sebastian Rancik hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring but it was the last time Colorado held the lead. The Cyclones scored the next 21 points during a 30-4 run that gave them control of the game.
The Buffaloes managed just four free throws after Rancik’s 3-pointer and went more than eight minutes before hitting their next field goal. They used a 12-2 run to climb with 16 points with 8:18 left but Iowa State answered.
Momcilovic, who leads the nation in 3-point percentage at 53.9, hit from deep to start an 8-0 Cyclones run, and Bateman’s jumper with 3:07 left in the first half gave them a 47-22 lead.
Iowa State led 52-29 at intermission.
Colorado made it 54-33 early in the second half but the Cyclones maintained a big lead. Momcilovic’s third 3-pointer of the night stretched the lead to 60-33 in the first three minutes, the Buffaloes made it 64-39 on two free throws by Rancik but Iowa State surged again.
A 7-2 run made it a 30-point game and Toure hit a 3-pointer to make it 76-45 with 9:36 left. A three-point play by Johnson and two free throws from Hargress gave Colorado a brief spark but the Cyclones were never threatened.
