KANSAS CITY – For the second straight day at the Big 12 tournament, Cincinnati Bearcats basketball opened the day’s games at T-Mobile Center.
This time the arena was packed full of Iowa State maroon and gold. In the end, the defending Big 12 tournament champs lived up to that and their No. 12 AP rating by defeating UC 76-56. The partisan Cyclones crowd stood and applauded loudly at the end in celebration.
Iowa State had four players score in double figures. Joshua Jefferson had 19, Tamin Lipsey 16, Milan Momcilovic 13 and Dishon Jackson 10. Jackson added a game-high 15 rebounds.
UC’s Jizzle James had 17 points after not scoring for close to 12 minutes in the opening half. Josh Reed finished with 10 points. UC forced 17 turnovers and only had 11, but the Cyclones were still too much.
How UC Bearcats went down
UC fought back from being down by double-digits by scoring seven points late in the first half to trail 33-24 at the break.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
To start the second half, a Jizzle James triple had them within six, but Iowa State would storm back. Ditto at 14:32 of the second half. Dillon Mitchell made a steal and dunk and it was 43-40, but quickly Iowa State went back up by nine.
At 10:46, UC was down five, 51-46 after an Aziz Bandoaogo lob, only to see Iowa State return to a double-digit lead.
Every UC run was answered. UC is now 2-12 this season when trailing at halftime and 12-37 lifetime under Wes Miller.
Again, UC was blistered on the boards by the bigger, bulkier Cyclones. They won 37-19 in Ames. Wednesday, Iowa State commanded the glass all game and finished with 41 caroms to UC’s 23.
UC falls to 18-15 with Iowa State improving to 24-8. The Bearcats appear headed to the Crown Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas now which doesn’t begin until March 31.
FINAL | Iowa State Cyclones 76, Cincinnati Bearcats 56
The Cyclones scored at will at the end while the offensively-challenged Bearcats struggled. As they did in Ames, Iowa State pulled away and forced their will on the Bearcats.
2:22 2H | Iowa State extends lead over UC to 15
It’s their biggest advantage yet at 71-56.
3:30 2H | UC Bearcats down 9, running out of time
IT’s 65-56 Iowa State and UC has made only 2-of-their-last-10. Rebounding is 37-22 in favor of Iowa State. Dishon Jackson has 10 points and 14 boards. At 274, UC has no one to body him. UC has forced 16 Iowa State turnovers today, but they need more of those and certainly some points in a hurry.
7:09 2H | Iowa State on run, leads UC Bearcats by 12
It’s 62-50 after UC had cut the lead to 51-46 on an Aziz Bandaogo lob, 51-46 with 10:46 left. Iowa State has made 7-of-their-last-9. Iowa State leads on boards 31-19.
11:09 2H | UC still down 7, though they briefly cut lead to 3
IT’s 51-44 Iowa State. UC had cut the lead to 43-40 after a Dillon Mitchell steal and dunk but Iowa State responded with a 6-0 run. Jizzle James with 17 for UC. Milan Momcilovic leads three Cyclones in double figures with 13 points. UC has closed the gap in rebounding but still trails 25-19.
14:40 2H | UC Bearcats cut Iowa State lead to 7
A Day Day Thomas 3-ball gets UC within 7 at 43-36. The Bearcats 5-of-their-last-7. Iowa State with 11 turnovers to UC’s seven. Fouls this half are four for UC, just one for the Cyclones. Both Bandaogo and Mitchell have three.
16:51 2H | UC cuts lead to 6, Iowa State goes back up by 12
A Jizzle James 3-pointer early in the half cut the Cyclones lead to 33-27. But, an 8-2 run and the Cyclones are back in comfortable command. Milan Momcilovic with 11, Tamin Lipsey 10 for Iowa State. Dillon Mitchell is out with his third foul and has not scored. 24-15 advantage on glass for Iowa State.
HALFTIME| Iowa State Cyclones 33, Cincinnati Bearcats 24
UC scores seven points in the final two minutes to get back to a single-digit deficit against Iowa State. Late in the half, they went nearly seven minutes without a field goal until a conventional three-point play by Dan Skillings Jr.
Jizzle James leads UC with eight points after not scoring for over 11 minutes. Dillon Mitchell, who had 18 points and 15 rebounds vs. Oklahoma State, has not scored and has just two rebounds. Iowa State is led by Milan Momcilovic with 11 points. The Cyclones are dominating the boards 21-13. UC 5-for-16 on triples, Iowa State 5-for-13. UC’s forced Iowa State into 10 turnovers to their seven. UC shooting 30% to Iowa State’s 48%.
3:10 1H | UC Bearcats down by 11 on long scoring drought
UC hasn’t scored in 5:35 besides a pair of Josh Reed free throws. It’s 26-15 Iowa State. UC is 5-for-22 from the field and getting blistered on the boards 20-10. Iowa State was also dominant in rebounding at Ames in their first meeting with a decisive 37-19 advantage.
7:40 1H | UC trails Iowa State by 9 shooting just 29%
Iowa State continues to get UC to take the ball down on the shot clock and heave up prayers. Milan Momcilovic has not missed a shot and has eight points. Iowa State leads 13-6 on boards.
11:33 1H | UC Bearcats trying to get back in game, down 6
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Simas Lukošius and Josh Reed brought UC within three at 14-11. Curtis Jones followed with a triple, now it will be UC ball under the basket down 17-11. Iowa State’s rebounding margin is 10-4. Bandaogo was put back in the game with two fouls.
13:12 1H | Iowa State up 9 on Bearcats. Timeout UC
It’s 14-5 after a Curtis Jones bucket. All UC has is an early score from Day Day Thomas and a 3-pointer from Dan Skillings Jr. They are 1-for-last-7.
15:54 1H | Iowa State out to early 5-point lead. Bandaogo with 2 fouls
Aziz Bandaogo just collected his second foul and will likely sit. Iowa State on a 5-0 run after Day Day Thomas tied the game with UC’s lone basket. No UC points in over two minutes. UC 1-for-6 shooting while Iowa State is 2-for-3.
KANSAS CITY – For the second straight season, the Cincinnati Bearcats men’s basketball team won its opening round game to advance against a Quadrant 1 win opponent.
Last year’s second round opponent was local favorite Kansas with UC beating the short-handed Jayhawks 72-52. Wednesday, it’s No. 12 Iowa State, the Big 12 Tournament defending champion.
No. 13 seed UC advanced with and 87-68 victory over Oklahoma State. No. 5 seed Iowa State had a first-round bye.
Nearly a month ago, after winning three straight Big 12 games, the Bearcats squared off with the Cyclones in Ames in front of over 14,000 fans and were tied at 39 at halftime. Just under five minutes into the second half, Dillon Mitchell had a fastbreak dunk and UC led 48-45. About two minutes later, Iowa State took the lead and outscored the Bearcats 36-22 from there.
There was a dramatic difference at the free throw line as Iowa State went 26-for-30, while UC shot only 11, making nine. The bigger, bulkier Cyclones outrebounded the Bearcats 37-19. UC did outrebound Oklahoma State Tuesday 40-26 in their 87-68 victory.
Iowa State is led by Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Curtis Jones, who averages 17 points per game. The Cyclones are expected to have Third Team All-Big 12 guard Keshon Gilbert back from injury. Jones had 22 points in the last meeting, while UC was led by Jizzle James with 25 points and five 3-pointers.
Live updates from Wednesday will be here on Cincinnati.com.
