Iowa State remains perfect on the season with dominating home victory over Kansas City

Curtis Jones comes off the bench to score 20 as Cyclones use early advantage to cruise past Roos

Curtis Jones led Iowa State with 20 points in an easy win over UMKC Monday night in Ames. / Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

The Iowa State men’s basketball team has prided itself on two key areas under head coach TJ Otzelberger. 

Both of those came into play Monday night as the seventh-ranked Cyclones improved to 2-0 on the season with an 82-56 victory over Kansas City.

In the opening half, Iowa State (2-0) used a commanding 18-8 edge on the glass to open up a 12-point advantage. The Cyclone defense held the Roos (2-1) to 31 percent shooting from the floor over that time. 

A key moment came with ISU leading 21-16, as they would outscore the Roos 34-18 over the next several minutes. UMKC shot just 1-for-11 from the field during that stretch of action.

From there, it was all Iowa State, as Curtis Jones came off the bench to score a team-high 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting. Jones, who had 16 after the break, also knocked down three 3-pointers while adding five rebounds and five assists. 

Keshon Gilbert nearly had a double-double, dishing out 10 assists to go along with nine points. Milan Momcilovic had 16 points with four made triples and Dishon Jackson added 13 points and six rebounds.

Tamin Lipsey, a returning honorable mention All-American, was held to just eight points and three assists on 2-for-7 shooting from the floor. As a team, the Cyclones were 30 of 60 overall with 10 made triples. 

For the Roos, Jamar Brown matched Jones with 20 points but only Jayson Petty joined him in double figures, scoring 12. Coming into the game, six different UMKC players were averaging double digits in points this year for the preseason Summit League favorites.

Iowa State finished with a plus-10 advantage on the glass and had 21 assists on 30 made field goals. They also converted 16 turnovers into 21 points but shot just 63 percent from the free throw line. 

Along with those edges, the Cyclones were plus-12 in fast break points and plus-18 on points in the paint. Kansas City did not score an official fast break point on the night.

This was the third 20-point game for Jones in his career and marked the second time Gilbert has hit 10-plus assists. It was also the 20th consecutive win inside Hilton for Iowa State.

One more tune-up remains for Iowa State, as they host IU Indianapolis next Monday night. After that, the Cyclones depart for the Maui Invitational where they open with Auburn. 

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