Milan Momcilovic scored a game-high 18 points to lead No. 4 Iowa State to a 78-53 win against Eastern Illinois on Sunday in Ames, Iowa.
Blake Buchanan contributed 14 and six rebounds, Joshua Jefferson added 11 points with nine rebounds and Killyan Toure chipped in 10 points for the Cyclones, who remained perfect at 11-0.
Kooper Jacobi and Zion Fruster each scored 11 points to lead Eastern Illinois (2-8) as the Panthers’ losing streak reached five games.
Iowa State shook off a slow start with an 8-0 first-half run. A Jefferson hook shot gave the Cyclones a 20-19 lead. A four-point play from Momcilovic and a jumper from Tamin Lipsey rounded out the runy as the Cyclones took a 26-19 lead with 7:18 to play in the first half.
Iowa State would not relinquish the advantage as Momcilovic extended the lead when he beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer for a 44-28 advantage at the break.
Eastern Illinois proved to be challenging in the early going. Preston Turner hit a 3-pointer for a 13-13 tie.
Moments later, Andre Washington connected from beyond the arc on consecutive Eastern Illinois possessions. The latter gave the Panthers a 19-18 lead with 9:47 left in the half. It would be the final lead of the afternoon for Eastern Illinois.
After a steal, Lipsey used some razzle dazzle on a fast break with a behind-the-back pass to Toure for a layup and a 32-23 lead with 4:23 left in the first half.
A 10-0 Iowa State scoring spree opened the second half as the Cyclones continued to take control of the game. Part of the Iowa State rally featured Jefferson securing a rebound and delivering a three-quarter court pass to Momcilovic for a layup and 49-28 lead with 18:09 remaining.
Jacobi got the Panthers on the second-half scoreboard with a 3-pointer with 16:33 remaining to cut the Cyclones’ advantage to 54-31. It’s the closest Eastern Illinois would get the rest of the way.
