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Iowa State dominates Stonehill as Tamin Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson shine in blowout win
The seniors posted 23 points each and fueled a 96–57 victory, extending ISU’s unbeaten start.
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AMES — Efficient. Explosive. Extremely focused.
Iowa State senior point guard Tamin Lipsey and fellow senior forward Joshua Jefferson personify those qualities almost every game — but were extra accomplished in those areas in the No. 16 Cyclones’ 96-57 dismantling of Stonehill College before 13,416 fans at Hilton Coliseum.
“We love playing with each other,” Jefferson said.
Jefferson and Lipsey each scored 23 points. Jefferson added nine rebounds and a game-high seven assists, while Lipsey sprinkled in six rebounds and four assists. The high-performing duo shot a combined 17-for-27 from the field and also combined for six steals.
“They do a great job,” said ISU head coach T.J. Otzelberger, whose team improved to 4-0 this season. “The rebounding is a huge area of emphasis for our team, making sure that we’re continuing to do that, and (in) then all those areas (they) produced. Tamin and Joshua are playing at an extremely high level, and their production is even far greater than what we see in their numbers.”
Junior forward Milan Momcilovic added 16 points, with 14 of those coming in the second half. The Cyclones shot 59.3 percent from the field and rebounded from an 0-for-7 performance from the 3-point line in the first half by drilling seven long-range baskets in the final 20 minutes.
“(We) want to keep getting better,” Otzelberger said. “It’s mid-November. Long season ahead. The job is to keep getting better every day.”
Stonehill (1-5) kept the game reasonable close in the first half by going 6-for-10 from beyond the arc. ISU led by just six points, at 32-26 after there Skyhawks’ sixth 3-pointers, but finished the first half with a 10-1 run to build a 42-27 halftime lead. The Cyclones also outscored Stonehill 28-to-4 in points off turnovers— just one week after outscoring a solid Mississippi State team 29-to-7 in that area.
“That’s how we want to come out every game defensively,” said Lipsey, whose 23-point effort followed up a career-high 25-point performance in last Monday’s 96-80 trouncing of the Bulldogs. “Just lock down, because you don’t know how the shots are gonna fall, or what’s gonna happen right away offensively. But you can count on what we’re gonna do defensively, and that’s turn teams over and just speed them up.”
The Cyclones have outscored their first four opponents 108-to-28 on points off turnovers, so it’s a so far, so good situation in that regard. ISU now ranks second nationally in defensive turnover percentage at 28.4 percent, according to KenPom, and has been among the top 15 in that stat in each of Otzelberger’s three-plus seasons at the helm.
“We want to play well in all aspects, but the first one is that our ball pressure generates turnovers,” Otzelberger said. “I think we had seven at the first media timeout and 11 at the second (one). I would have liked to see us sustain that more for 40 minutes, but that’s something that’s gonna be important no matter who we play.”
Especially for Jefferson and Lipsey, who both agreed that even after a 39-point win on Monday night, the Cyclones could have been much better.
“I don’t think our communication was where we wanted it tonight, so we’re gonna look at that with film, carry it over to practice, and continue to work on what we need to work on,” Jefferson said.
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