Milan Momcilovic isn’t the marquee player of Iowa State’s freshman class, but his debut was worth boasting about.
Momcilovic looks to make it two straight stellar appearances to start his career when the Cyclones face Lindenwood on Thursday night at Ames, Iowa.
Momcilovic scored a game-high 18 points and made 6 of 7 shots from 3-point range as Iowa State (1-0) rolled to an 85-44 season-opening win over Green Bay on Monday.
Momcilovic, a 6-foot-8 forward, made five treys in the first half, including banking in a buzzer-beater to conclude the first half.
“I played well, but it was just a special feeling to be out there with the teammates and with the crowd,” Momcilovic said. “It’s gonna be a special year because we’ve got a special group.”
The top member of the freshman class is McDonald’s All-American Omaha Biliew, who is considered the top recruit the Cyclones have ever landed. But Biliew got in early foul trouble and had just four points in 14 minutes before fouling out of his college debut.
Meanwhile, Momcilovic made the type of first impression that stands out.
“He’s just gotta continue to stay aggressive,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “His teammates believe in him. We all know what he can do, and it gives us a very formidable weapon there offensively that we know what he can do night in and night out.”
UNLV transfer Keshon Gilbert added 17 points in his Cyclones’ debut.
Lindenwood (0-1) was on the wrong side of a rout in its season debut, losing 84-52 at Nebraska.
This is Lindenwood’s second season at the Division I level, and coach Kyle Gerdeman said there is much to be sorted out.
“What we really concentrate a lot on is how we develop, day by day, this week to next week, game to game, which sounds like typical coach speak, but it’s true for us,” Gerdeman said after the loss. “I think that we have the ability to be a really good team at the end of the year.
“I don’t think we’re close to where we need to be right now, which a lot of teams probably aren’t.”
Forward Keenon Cole led the Lions with 14 points. He averaged 12.9 points and shot 46.3 percent from 3-point range last season when Lindenwood went 11-21.
This is the first meeting between the schools.
–Field Level Media