AMES – Gabe Kalscheur hit five 3-pointers and scored 23 points to lead Iowa State (10-2, 1-0 Big 12) to a 77-62 win over No. 12 Baylor (10-3, 0-1) in the Big 12-opener Saturday afternoon in Hilton Coliseum.
The Cyclones were down nine points in the first half, but a late first-half flurry and a strong start to the second half gave the Cyclones control for the rest of the contest to end a six-game losing skid to the Bears. It was head coach T.J. Otzelberger’s seventh victory over a ranked opponent in his two-year tenure with the Cyclones.
Kalscheur had the hot hand, hitting 7-of-13 shots from the field and 5-of-9 attempts from beyond the arc. His triple with 5:22 left in the game gave the Cyclones a 69-54 lead and put the game out of reach.
Kalscheur had help from Caleb Grill, who scored 18 points behind 5-of-9 shooting from downtown. Grill also posted a team-high seven boards. Jaren Holmes added 10 points, all in the second half.
The Cyclones had 19 points off 19 Bear turnovers. Adam Flagler led the Bears with 20 points, tallying 18 in the opening period.
How It Happened
Flagler scored 14 of Baylor’s first 16 points to give the Bears an early 16-9 lead.
A Tamin Lipsey lay-up cut the Baylor lead to 18-16, but the Bears rattled off seven-straight points, including a another hoop from Flagler, to increase their lead to 25-16 with under eight minutes remaining in the opening period.
The Cyclones fought back at the end of the half. A 10-0 run gave the Cyclones their first lead of the game (30-29) with 1:55 left. Kalscheur had five points in the run, including a trey, and Lipsey pitched a perfect lob to Robert Jones to give the Cyclones new life.
ISU led at the break, 34-31 with Kalscheur scoring 12 first-half points to pace the Cyclones and Flagler pouring in 18 to lead the Bears.
The Cyclones continued their torrid pace to begin the second half with a 9-1 run to move ahead by 11 points, 43-32. Osun Osunniyi scored the first two baskets of the half and Kalscheur buried another 3-pointer in the fast start.
However, in a little over a minute, the Bears scored eight-straight points behind six from Keyonte George to close the gap to 43-40. The Cyclones countered with a 13-6 run to establish a 56-46 lead at the second media timeout of the second half. Hason Ward and Tre King both had buckets in the paint to help ISU maintain a double-digit lead.
ISU led 66-54 with under six minutes remaining after Jones converted a conventional 3-point play after being fouled on a lay-up. Moments later the crowd erupted when Kalscheur hit his fifth triple to move ISU ahead, 69-54, with 5:22 left in the contest.
Minutes later, Grill’s full-court pass to Holmes off a defensive board was perfect, hitting him in stride for a lay-up to push the lead to 74-56 with 3:09 left.
Top Performance
For a true freshman playing in his first Big 12 game, Tamin Lipsey was rock solid. The rookie scored eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, all on dribble drives in the halfcourt. He also tied his career high with eight dimes and grabbed five boards.
Notes
-Gabe Kalscheur’s 23 points were the most points he has scored in a Big 12 game in his career.
-Iowa State’s 15 point victory is tied for the fifth-largest margin of victory at home over a Top-25 opponent. The last time ISU defeated a Top-25 team by 15 was against Baylor in 2014 when the Cyclones defeated the Bears 87-72.
What’s Next
Iowa State travels to Oklahoma to face the Sooners on Wednesday (Jan. 4). Tipoff is at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
