Ames, Iowa—-The Iowa State men’s basketball have been playing great basketball of late and Sunday afternoon was no different.
The Cyclones ease passed Western Michigan, 73-57, at Hilton Coliseum in front of a packed crowd in Ames. It marks ISU’s 18th straight win against non-conference foes at Hilton Coliseum.
Iowa State is now 9-2 overall this season, opened the contest on fire with a 17-3 run and led by double digits the rest of the way over the undersized Broncos, who fall to 3-8.
The Cyclones led by as many as 22 in the second half and has now won two games in a row and three out of four in the month of December.
“I thought he did a really good job,” said Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger. “We talked about him being a guy we could throw (the ball) in to. He’s a great cutter, finisher. He had a great cut on the baseline that led to a dunk. Liked his energy out there. Felt like his defensive communication was good. Really pleased.
Lamar Norman’s 24 points included six three-pointers, one shy of his season high. Sunday marked the fifth game with 20 points or more for the senior, and the eighth time this season he has led the Broncos.
Norman converted a four-point play as a part of a 10-4 run which brought WMU to within 34-21 with 2:10 to go into the break. The Cyclones took a 37-23 advantage lead into halftime.
WMU shot 20-of-52 (38.5 percent) for the afternoon and made a season-high 13 three-pointers. The Cyclones drained 31-of-49 (63.3 percent) from the hardwood and knocked down seven treys. The Broncos won the glass battle for the eighth time in 11 games, as they edged the Cyclones 27-26 on the boards.
Five players finished in double-figures for Iowa State. The most dominate player was Tre King, the 6-foot-7 forward who transferred to Iowa State on Dec. 1, 2021, and finally made his debut Sunday. He scored his first points on a power dunk and ultimately scored 11 on 5-of-6 shooting.
“Felt great,” said King, who transferred in from Georgetown after starting his college career at Eastern Kentucky. “It was a long time coming. A lot of long days and long nights. But playing in Hilton for the first time, it was great.”
A 9-2 stretch in the early in the second half helped the Cyclones increase their lead to 49-28 with 14:37 to play. The Broncos used an 11-4 run to get back to within 13 points, as JaVaughn Hannah hit a deep three-pointer to make it 60-47 at the 5:23 mark.
Joining Norman in double-figures were Tray Maddox Jr. (13) and Hannah (10). Hannah’s 10 points matched a career high. Markeese Hastings paced the Broncos on the boards with a game-high eight.
The Broncos closed the gap to 13 again with 3:23 remaining, but could not get any closer, as the Cyclones scored eight of the next 10 points to put the game beyond WMU’s reach.
ISU was led by Caleb Grill with 14 points. Gabe Kalscheur (11) Robert Jones and Jaren Holmes both had 10 points apiece.
Next Up:
Iowa State will play #12 Baylor Dec. 31, 2021 at home for a 2:00 P.M. start time.
