ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Killyan Toure scored a career-high 25 points and Nate Heise added 22 points, his most as a Cyclone, as second-seeded Iowa State rolled to a 108-74 win over Tennessee State Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Enterprise Center.
Iowa State’s (28-8) 108 points were a program record for an NCAA Tournament game. The Cyclone defense held Tennessee State (23-10) below its season average of 80.5 ppg, the 17th-straight opponent they have held below their average.
The Cyclones shot 53 percent from the field and connected on 11-of-24 three-pointers in the winning effort.
Iowa State went in front 5-3 on Joshua Jefferson coast-to-coast layup but the Naismith semifinalist went down with a lower leg injury on the play and didn’t return in the game.
The Cyclones were simply too much for the Tigers even without Jefferson. After TSU closed the cap to 9-7, ISU poured it on with a 23-0 run over the course of the next five-plus minutes to go in front 32-7. The Cyclones hit five threes during the run, including two each by Momcilovic and Heise.
Iowa State kept the pressure on the rest of the half, forcing 12 Tiger turnovers while shooting 57.1 percent from the field on its way to a 55-29 lead at the half. The 55 points were ISU’s most in a half in the 49th NCAA Tournament game in program history.
The second half was more of the same for the Cyclones, who advanced to the second round for the fourth time in five seasons under head coach T.J. Otzelberger.
Top Performers
Toure recorded his first career double-double, adding 11rebounds to go along with his 25 points.
In addition to Heise’s 22 points, Momcilovic scored 17 points and Blak Buchanan had 11 points, seven rebounds and a career-high eight assists.
Tennessee State was paced by 22 points from Aaron Nkrumah, while Antoine Lorick III added 20 points.
Up Next
Iowa State will face the seventh-seeded Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday. Tip time for the game will be announced later tonight.
Team Notes
– Iowa State is now 17-8 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and 25-24 overall. ISU has won its first game in 14 of the last 18 tournaments.
– The Cyclones won their 28th game of the season, tied for the third-most in school history.
– T.J. Otzelberger tied Johnny Orr for the most neutral site wins in school history with 24.
– Tamin Lipsey joined Georges Niang, Monte Morris, Matt Thomas and Nazareth Mitrou-Long as the only Cyclones to play in four NCAA Tournaments.
– The Cyclones earned their 101st win in the last four years, the most in a four-year span in program history.
– ISU scored an NCAA Tournament program record 55 points in the first half, surpassing the previous high of 50 vs. Connecticut in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
– ISU’s 108 points were a program-high for an NCAA Tournament game as well, topping the 98 points scored against Kentucky in 1992.
Individual Notes
– Killyan Toure started his 35th game, tied for the second-most by a freshman in school history … Toure scored a career-high 25 points, surpassing his previous mark of 20 against Creighton in Las Vegas.
– Tamin Lipsey played in his 135th career game, tying Melvin Ejim for fourth in school history.
– Milan Momcilovic played in his 100th career game … he has connected on a 3-pointer in 20-straight games, becoming the first player in program history with multiple streaks of 20 games in a career.
– Nate Heise scored his most points as a Cyclone, finishing with 22 points.
– Blake Buchanan recorded a career-high eight assists.
