AMES — There’s a sudden intrigue in a lopsided rout whenever the winning team comes close to the 100-point mark.
Iowa State men’s basketball was able to give its fans a late-game rush of adrenaline, thanks to Jamarion Batemon’s late 3-pointer, which capped off a 102-62 win over visiting Grambling State at Hilton Coliseum on Thursday, Nov. 6.
The Cyclones (2-0) built a 44-30 halftime lead, which ballooned into the forties in the second half.
Joshua Jefferson led the way with 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a block. Batemon, Milan Momcilovic and Killyan Toure each had 11 points. Tamin Lipsey and Dominick Nelson added 10 points apiece.
For Grambling State, freshman Antonio Munoz paced the Tigers with 16 points, four rebounds and seven assists.
It was a strong all-around showing for Iowa State, which is about to get its first real challenge of the season, when it heads to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to play Mississippi State on Nov. 10. The Bulldogs have finished with 21 wins and made the NCAA Tournament every year since head coach Chris Jans took over the program in the 2022-23 season.
Here are three takeaways from the Cyclones’ win over Grambling State:
Joshua Jefferson, Tamin Lipsey lead balanced attack; Jamarion Batemon adds a spark
Joshua Jefferson and Tamin Lipsey both had strong all-around performances to lead the way, but the Cyclones really got to flex their depth.
Jefferson was ultra-efficient, posting 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting. He also had eight rebounds, three assists and a block.
Lipsey wreaked havoc on both ends of the court and posted his second straight game with at least 10 points, five assists and five steals. His flashy playmaking and defensive effort were both impressive.
Iowa State had six players score in double figures. It had seven players finish with eight or more points.
“It felt like everybody that came in was bringing something to the table,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “… Across the board, you have six guys in double figures and so many guys able to score, those are great times for your team, for your program, and you want guys to feel good and build confidence in our group and what we can do together.”
While there were contributions throughout the Cyclones’ rotation, it felt like a pivotal game for Jamarion Batemon, who hadn’t really seen his shots drop in Iowa State’s exhibition games or its season-opening win over FDU.
The first-year guard entered the game had an impressive momentum-boosting series where he hit back-to-back 3-pointers, then drew a charge. He hit another 3-pointer with 23 seconds left in the game to help the Cyclones cross the 100-point mark.
“It felt great to get that rhythm going,” Batemon said. “My coaches trust me, my teammates trust me, so it felt good to kind of pour that back into them to get some energy.”
Iowa State eats in the paint, on the glass
Grambling State didn’t come with much overwhelming size, especially in the frontcourt. The Tigers only played one player taller than 6-foot-8, Richard Amaefule, and he was in foul trouble.
Iowa State had a size advantage upfront, but it seemed like all of the Cyclones were assertive and aggressive in attacking the basket.
The Cyclones outscored Grambling State in the paint by a wide margin, 46-26.
Iowa State also won on the glass, outrebounding the Tigers, 43-25. The Cyclones had 16 offensive rebounds and converted those into 17 second-chance points.
“That was the emphasis,” Otzelberger said. “We’ve been talking about how that’s a big part of our offense. Certainly, we want to generate points in transition off our defense, but those second-chance points are huge. … Tonight, we imposed our will on the glass far more than what we had done up to this point, but it needs to not be a one-game thing that we applaud. It needs to be the consistency of that standard.”
Blake Buchanan was a major piece in the rebounding effort and overall solid play in the paint. Buchanan had eight points, nine boards and four blocks. He and Lipsey had a team-high four offensive rebounds each. Eric Mulder also looked good off the bench, scoring some putback opportunities. In just 11 minutes of play, he had five points and six rebounds, including three on the offensive glass.
Iowa State’s ball movement was smooth and the Cyclones often found open cutters or teammates in close-range. It also got to the line often in the second half, but the free-throw shooting is a concern. The Cyclones only made 18-of-29 (62.1%) free-throw attempts.
Iowa State shows its disruptive defense once again
FDU was no match for Iowa State’s defensive pressure. Grambling State hung in early and even grabbed the lead for 21 seconds after a pair of free throws capped a 9-0 run and put the Tigers in front, 17-16, with 9:44 left in the first half.
The Cyclones were able to retake the lead after back-to-back Batemon 3-pointers, and their high-intensity defense wore on Grambling State as the game went on.
Iowa State tallied 14 steals as a team and forced the Tigers to turn the ball over 19 times. Iowa State converted those into 27 points off turnovers on the other end.
“Killyan and Tamin have this unique ability to just pursue those loose basketballs for sure, but I thought more guys made (those plays) tonight,” Otzelberger said. “Our disruption defensively, to create 14 live-ball steals again is really good, and multiple guys were making those plays to be in the rotation. It’s a huge positive and there’s a lot of guys bringing value and that’s what really good teams do — guys throughout the lineup continue to bring value. We talked about having an instant impact on the production when you go in the game and that’s the case.”
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: Three takeaways from Iowa State basketball’s win over Grambling State, 102-point game
Reporting by Eugene Rapay, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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