Milan Momcilovic hit a late tiebreaking jumper and two key free throws as Iowa State topped previously unbeaten No. 2 Houston 57-53 on Tuesday in a Big 12 Conference slugfest in Ames, Iowa.
The Cougars (14-1, 1-1 Big 12) — who were the last unbeaten Division I team in the country — shrugged off their most ragged start of the season and tied the game at 41-41 with 10:48 to play. Jamal Shead’s jumper with 3:17 to play gave Houston its first lead but it was short-lived.
Robert Jones hit a layup on Iowa State’s ensuing possession to leapfrog the Cyclones back to the front, and Hason Ward’s free throw with 1:20 left to push the margin to two points.
Shead answered with a 10-footer in the lane to tie the game at 53-53 with 58 seconds remaining.
Momcilovic then hit a turnaround jumper from the baseline over two Houston defenders to put the Cyclones on top for good with 31 seconds left. After a Cougars miss, Momcilovic canned a pair of free throws with 10.7 seconds left to secure the win.
Tamin Lipsey led the Cyclones (12-3, 1-1 Big 12) with 14 points while Momcilovic finished with 11.
Houston’s Emanuel Sharp led all scorers with 20 points and Shead had 14.
The Cyclones roared out of the gate, scoring the game’s first 14 points with Tre King’s layup at the 14:20 mark of the first half capping the early surge.
Houston missed its first five shots and had four turnovers before Sharp canned a 3-pointer six minutes into the contest.
The Cougars continued to claw their way back, pulling to within 23-19 on a 3-pointer by Sharp with 4:35 to play in the half.
But Iowa State swung back, scoring the next six points punctuated by a jumper from Momcilovic with two minutes remaining. Lipsey’s layup with four seconds left sent the Cyclones to the break with a 31-21 advantage.
Lipsey led Iowa State with eight points before halftime as the Cyclones outshot Houston 44 percent to 30 percent over the first 20 minutes. Sharp scored 11 points to pace Houston, which had 12 turnovers in the half.
–Field Level Media