Iowa State’s Tre King scored the first basket against Florida A&M just 20 seconds into the game, and the Cyclones never looked back on their way to a 96-58 win on Sunday in Ames, Iowa.
The Cyclones (9-2) never relinquished the lead, leading by no less than 20 points for the final 34 minutes. King picked up his first double-double for Iowa State with 18 points and 10 rebounds. He had seven double-doubles with Eastern Kentucky.
Tamin Lipsey led the Cyclones with 19 points, while Milan Momcilovic scored 14 and Jackson Paveletzke added a season-high 13 off the bench.
Lost in the lopsided loss was the performance from Florida A&M’s Keith Lamar. He finished 9-for-18 shooting from the field, including 7 for 13 from beyond the arc, and nailed his first five 3-point attempts. Lamar led all scorers with 27 points.
The win gives Iowa State its second win streak of at least four games this season. It also marks the sixth time in the 2023-24 campaign that the Cyclones hit the 90-point mark, having done so each of the last four games.
In their second loss in as many days, the Rattlers (2-7) have given up 80 or more points six times.
The Cyclones wasted little time setting the tone, jumping out to an 11-2 lead less than three minutes in and holding a 44-24 lead at halftime.
Florida A&M was dealt a huge blow early, as leading scorer Love Bettis (13.6 points per game) went down with an apparent ankle injury. The overmatched SWAC program lost Bettis for the rest of the game.
Iowa State went on a 15-3 run near the 10-minute mark of the first half to extend its lead to 22. The key to the hot start was the Cyclones’ ability to force turnovers. The Rattlers turned the ball over 17 times in the first half, including eight times in the opening eight minutes.
–Field Level Media