Joshua Jefferson posted his second triple-double of the season and No. 9 Iowa State snapped a two-game losing skid with Tuesday’s 87-57 blowout of UCF in Ames, Iowa.
Coming off road losses to Kansas and Cincinnati, the Cyclones (17-2, 4-2 Big 12) pulled away from the visitors to create an 18-point halftime lead on the way to righting their trajectory in the standings. Jefferson finished with 17 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds and four steals.
Milan Momcilovic scored 20 points and made four of his team’s nine 3-pointers. Jamarion Batemon and Killyan Toure had 12 points apiece. Blake Buchanan had 11 points and six boards.
After losing to No. 1 Arizona at home Saturday, the Knights (14-4, 3-3) lost for the third time in five games.
Riley Kugel and Jordan Burks (seven rebounds) each had 15 points as UCF shot 36.8% from the floor (21 of 57) and turned over the ball 19 times.
Momcilovic, who netted 34 points in the loss at Cincinnati, stayed hot by draining a 3-pointer, and Buchanan produced a three-point play for an 8-3 lead less than 2 1/2 minutes in. Toure’s 23-footer at 15:47 made it 15-7.
Jefferson helped Iowa State on defense as well, blocking Chris Johnson’s wide-open dunk attempt, and UCF made it easier by committing six turnovers in the first seven minutes. Devan Cambridge’s 3-pointer at 12:10 cut the Knights’ deficit to 23-12.
Jefferson’s slam just past the 10-minute mark pushed it to 29-16, and the score remained that until Kugel’s long ball sliced the lead to 10 at 7:15. Another Kugel triple soon brought UCF within 31-24.
The visitors kept the margin in single digits for a few minutes, but Batemon’s three-point play made it 38-26 with 2:29 left. Batemon added a deep shot, and the Cyclones ended the half on a 13-0 run for a 44-26 lead.
Near the 15-minute mark of the second, the Cyclones grew the lead to 52-33 on Dominykas Pleta’s two foul shots, and Momcilovic’s deep ball pushed the advantage to 55-35 at 14:19.
The home side kept the pressure on in the game’s remainder, led by as many as 31 points and sailed away to the comfortable streak-breaking victory.
–Field Level Media
