Caleb Grill established season bests of 20 points and six 3-pointers to lead No. 11 Iowa State to a 77-54 victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday in nonconference play at Ames, Iowa.
Izaiah Brockington added 17 points, 11 rebounds and three steals for Iowa State (11-0), which is one of six remaining undefeated teams in the nation. Aljaz Kunc had 13 points and was 3-for-3 from 3-point range for the second straight game.
The Cyclones’ start is the second best in school history, trailing the 14-0 opening stretch of the 2013-14 season.
Gus Okafor recorded 13 points and eight rebounds for the Lions (4-8), who lost for the sixth time in the past seven games.
Iowa State shot a torrid 76.9 percent (20 of 26) during a 52-point second half to finish at 56.9 percent for the game. The Cyclones were 10 of 23 from 3-point range.
Southeastern Louisiana shot just 36.7 percent from the field and 8 of 29 from behind the arc.
Iowa State picked up the pace in the second half after shooting just 36.0 percent over the first 20 minutes. The Cyclones led 25-17 at the break.
Brockington, Tristan Enaruna and George Conditt scored baskets in a 68-second span early in the second half to give the Cyclones a 31-18 advantage.
Southeastern Louisiana crept back within eight before Grill made two 3-pointers during an 8-1 surge as Iowa State opened up a 39-24 lead with 14:23 remaining.
Kunc and Grill later drained consecutive 3-pointers to push the advantage to 49-32 with 10:08 left.
Three-plus minutes later, Gabe Kalscheur and Grill hit consecutive 3-pointers as the lead topped 20 for the first time at 62-41 with 6:35 remaining.
Kalscheur’s layup increased the lead to 70-48 with 3:04 left.
Kunz connected on a 3-pointer with 48 seconds left to give Iowa State a game-best 23-point lead.
Grill scored eight points in the first half as the Cyclones held the eight-point lead at the break.
Southeastern Louisiana trailed 14-12 after Okafor’s 3-pointer with 7:46 left before Iowa State scored 11 of the final 16 points of the half. The Lions were 6 of 25 (24 percent) from the field in the half.
–Field Level Media