AMES — Hilton Coliseum was charged up on Friday night.
No. 3-ranked Iowa State basketball hosted West Virginia for its Big 12 Conference opener on Jan. 2. The Cyclones had no trouble getting past the Mountaineers in an 80-59 victory.
Joshua Jefferson posted a triple-double. Milan Momcilovic was 8-for-10 from 3-point range and scored 26 points.
The Cyclones improved to 14-0 and 1-0 in conference play.
West Virginia is 9-5 and 0-1 under new head coach Ross Hodge.
See below for how the game unfolded in real time.
Iowa State men’s basketball triple-doubles
FINAL: No. 3 Iowa State 80, West Virginia 59
Iowa State leaders:
West Virginia leaders:
Joshua Jefferson notches triple-double | Iowa State 78, West Virginia 52, 2:06 2H
Milan Momcilovic is unconscious. 17 of his game-high 26 points have come in the second half. Momcilovic is 5-of-6 from deep since halftime, and he’s 8-for-10 from beyond the arc for the entire game.
His latest 3-pointer gave Joshua Jefferson a triple-double. It is the first of his career. He will likely check out of the game after this time out. He has exactly 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Joshua Jefferson close to a triple-double | Iowa State 72, West Virginia 52, 3:21 2H
Hilton Coliseum collectively gasped as Nate Heise was fouled on that cutting layup, but the shot was off the mark. Joshua Jefferson is one assist away from a triple-double and the whole arena was on edge for it.
Iowa State shutting the door this half. West Virginia held to shooting 38.9% as a team this half, including a 2-for-8 mark from long range. Leading scorer Honor Huff only has six points and is shooting 1-for-7 from deep.
Meanwhile, Iowa State is shooting 11-for-19 (57.9%) this half and 4-for-6 from deep.
Iowa State pushes lead into the 20s | Iowa State 59, West Virginia 38, 11:40 2H
Milan Momcilovic is a microwave, can instantly heat up at any moment. He now has a team-high 17 points after making three of the last four Cyclone baskets. He drove inside, posted up on the smaller Honor Huff and got the righty shot to drop from close-range. Momcilovic is shooting 6-of-8 so far, and 5-for-6 from deep.
9-2 run for Cyclones | Iowa State 52, West Virginia 36, 13:46 2H
Iowa State is on a 9-2 run. Beautiful possession on that last one before West Virginia called time out. Great ball movement by the Cyclones ends with Joshua Jefferson driving inside and kicking out to an open Milan Momcilovic. Iowa State just kept moving the ball and was ahead of the West Virginia defense until it got that open 3-pointer.
More whistles to start in the second half | Iowa State 47, West Virginia 36, 15:14 2H
There were a combined eight fouls in the first half, with Iowa State only getting called once for a foul.
There are already seven total fouls not even five minutes into the second half. Dominykas Pleta will go to the line after this media timeout.
AT THE HALF: No. 3 Iowa State 41, West Virginia 28
Blake Buchanan brought the house down with a slick alley-oop and-1 off the feed by Tamin Lipsey. Sent the crowd into a frenzy, but he airballed the ensuing free throw, still an impressive play nonetheless.
Iowa State leaders:
West Virginia:
Iowa State surging forward | Iowa State 30, West Virginia 23, 3:29 1H
The Cyclones are on a 15-4 run since that held-ball call that upset the Hilton Coliseum crowd. Jamarion Batemon got the run rolling. Joshua Jefferson also had an impressive behind-the-back bounce pass in the low post that found Blake Buchanan for an easy dunk.
West Virginia appeared to get away with a travel as Chance Moore got a layup to drop, but Tamin Lipsey answered back with a basket. Mountaineers aren’t as lucky in their return trip down the court, as DJ Thomas gets whistled for a travel. Timeout on the floor.
Jamarion Batemon gives Iowa State a spark | Iowa State 21, West Virginia 19, 7:49 1H
The Cyclones hadn’t scored in more than three minutes. They hit a rut where they had missed nine of their previous 10 shots, and frustration was mounting in the crowd as a near-turnover resulted in a held-ball situation, rather than West Virginia getting whistled for a foul with what appeared to be excessive contact towards Blake Buchanan.
Enter Jamarion Batemon. He knocked down a corner 3-pointer to break the drought and give the Cyclones the lead. After Iowa State got a stop, they went back down to Batemon in transition, who ignored a late closeout and drilled an NBA-range 3-pointer. Timeout West Virginia.
Sloppy stretch for Iowa State | West Virginia 14, Iowa State 12, 11:59 1H
Butchered layups, lazy passes, turnovers, slow/late closeouts, it hasn’t been a great stretch for the Cyclones, who haven’t hit a shot in more than 3 minutes. They’re shooting 4-of-12 so far tonight, misses on each of their last six shot attempts. West Virginia has been scrappy, but the Mountaineers have also slowed down a bit, going scoreless for the last 2:18.
Iowa State has been working hard on the glass though, outrebounding West Virginia, 9-3. The Cyclones also have five offensive boards already.
First media timeout | West Virginia 9, Iowa State 7, 15:34 1H
The Mountaineers are up at the first media timeout. West Virginia is shooting 4-of-5, while Iowa State is 3-for-5.
Noticing a couple of instances early where undersized 5-foot-10 offensive-minded guard Honor Huff gets switched onto Milan Momcilovic when the Cyclones are on offense. Would love to see if Iowa State is able to exploit that. Momcilovic did attempt a 3-pointer (on a different defender) and cashed in. Blake Buchanan has Iowa State’s two other buckets so far.
Underway!
West Virginia sharpshooter Honor Huff knocks down an open corner 3-pointer to start the game. Iowa State comes back with a tough layup from under the basket by Blake Buchanan.
Starting lineups for Iowa State basketball vs. West Virginia
Iowa State starters:
West Virginia starters:
7:40 p.m.: Iowa State men’s basketball schedule
All times are CT.
*Indicates Big 12 Conference game
7:32 p.m.: Iowa State basketball pregame reading
Here are some recent Iowa State stories from the Des Moines Register:
7:25 p.m.: West Virginia basketball’s recent results
West Virginia is 9-4 overall, but here is a look at its last five games:
7:10 p.m.: Pregame availability report
The availability report for Friday’s 8 p.m. CT Iowa State vs. West Virginia men’s basketball game was released 90 minutes before tip-off by the Big 12 Conference.
Brenen Lorient and Abraham Oyeadier are listed as “out” for West Virginia.
Iowa State’s Mason Williams is listed as “out” for Friday’s game.
7 p.m.: Where to watch the Iowa State vs. West Virginia basketball game
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State basketball vs West Virginia score, ISU wins Big 12 opener
Reporting by Eugene Rapay, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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