No. 7 Iowa State pounds Kansas City behind big 2nd half

Curtis Jones scored 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting off the bench and No. 7 Iowa State pulled away for an 82-56 win over Kansas City on Monday night in Ames, Iowa.

Milan Momcilovic added 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting for Iowa State (2-0), which earned its second straight win by double digits. Dishon Jackson contributed 13 points and Keshon Gilbert flirted with a double-double, finishing with nine points and 10 assists.

Jamar Brown scored 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting to lead Kansas City (2-1). Jayson Petty scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Iowa State shot 48.4 percent (30 of 62) from the field and 40 percent (10 of 25) from 3-point range. Kansas City shot 33.3 percent (18 of 54) overall and 25.8 percent (8 of 31) from beyond the arc.

Iowa State built a 34-22 lead at the half.

The Cyclones fell behind 8-4 in the first 2:15 of the contest, but the four-point margin would prove to be Kansas City’s largest lead of the evening. The Roos started hot with a 3-pointer by Brown, a layup by Melvyn Ebonkoli and a three-point play by Anderson Kopp.

Iowa State responded with an 11-3 run to seize a 15-11 lead with 10:48 to go in the first half. Jackson finished the run with four straight points on a jump shot and a layup.

By the final minutes of the half, the Cyclones had increased their lead to 16 points.

Tamin Lipsey converted a three-point play to put Iowa State on top 34-18 with 1:34 left before the break. He made a layup off a feed from Jones, drew a foul and made the ensuing free throw.

The lopsided contest continued, as Iowa State went on a 31-11 run in the first 10-plus minutes of the second half. That pushed the Cyclones’ lead to 65-33.

An 11-0 run helped Iowa State put the game well out of reach. Momcilovic made a jumper, Jones drained back-to-back 3-pointers and Gilbert made a layup and a free throw to give the Cyclones a 32-point advantage with 9:46 to play.