Momcilovic stars as Iowa State knocks off Lipscomb 82-55 in March Madness
AP
Mar 21, 2025
MILWAUKEE (AP) Milan Momcilovic scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half, and third-seeded Iowa State Cyclones routed Lipscomb Bisons 82-55 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
Curtis Jones had 17 points as Iowa State bounced back nicely after dropping four of seven going into the tourney. Joshua Jefferson finished with 10 points and eight assists.
Next up for the Cyclones (25-9) in the South Region is No. 6 seed Mississippi, which knocked off North Carolina.
Momcilovic, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Pewaukee, Wisconsin, made four 3-pointers and grabbed five rebounds.
“It means a lot to put on a show in front of friends and family. I wanted them to come to a good game and they got that," Momcilovic said.
Jacob Ognacevic, the player of the year in the Atlantic Sun, led Lipscomb with 18 points. Gyasi Powell added 11.
Healthy again after being sidelined with a hand injury earlier in the season, Momcilovic took over in the first half. He scored 12 points in a 14-0 run that helped the Cyclones to a 40-24 halftime lead.
“I think I hit two or three 3s and then I took advantage of the smaller defender on me and took him down low," Momcilovic said.
Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said his team remained poised as Lipscomb took an early lead.
“There wasn’t panic. We didn’t rush or do anything out of character," he said. “And then Milan just took over the game. You could see his confidence growing once he saw it go through the basket and credit to his teammates for doing an unbelievable job of finding him.”
Iowa State's size advantage bothered Lipscomb for much of the afternoon. It was the lowest-scoring game of the season for the 14th-seeded Bisons (25-10).
Lipscomb: The Bisons made just their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Their only other trip, as a 15-seed in 2018, resulted in an 84-66 loss to North Carolina.
Iowa State: Tamin Lipsey, who has been dealing with a groin injury that kept him out of Iowa State’s Big 12 Tournament loss to BYU, had 10 points in his return to the lineup. He provided a boost for a Cyclones team playing without second-leading scorer Keshon Gilbert because of a groin injury.
“They are one of the few teams in the country that just pound the ball inside. They really took advantage of us," Lipscomb coach Lennie Acuff said. "We were fighting, but we just really didn’t have an answer. In order for us to win we knew we had to shoot it well. I think we made five 3s in the first 10 minutes and I don’t think we made another one for 20 minutes. They force you to get it off a little quicker. They have a little bit more length than we normally see.”
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1st Half
LIP
Bisons
24
IAST
Cyclones
40
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Charlie Williams vs. Tamin Lipsey (Dishon Jackson gains possession)
19:45
Milan Momcilovic misses three point jump shot
19:43
Nate Heise offensive rebound
19:33
+2
Tamin Lipsey makes two point layup (Joshua Jefferson assists)
0-2
19:01
Charlie Williams misses three point jump shot
18:59
Milan Momcilovic defensive rebound
18:34
Tamin Lipsey misses three point jump shot
18:32
Jacob Ognacevic defensive rebound
18:05
Dishon Jackson blocks Joe Anderson's two point jump shot
18:03
Charlie Williams offensive rebound
18:02
Bisons turnover (shot clock violation)
17:48
Will Pruitt personal foul
17:44
+2
Tamin Lipsey makes two point layup
0-4
17:21
Charlie Williams misses three point jump shot
17:19
Joshua Jefferson defensive rebound
17:13
+2
Curtis Jones makes two point layup (Tamin Lipsey assists)
0-6
17:01
+2
Will Pruitt makes two point layup (Charlie Williams assists)
2-6
16:32
Brandton Chatfield misses three point jump shot
16:30
Jacob Ognacevic defensive rebound
16:19
Will Pruitt turnover (bad pass)
16:00
+2
Joshua Jefferson makes two point hook shot (Cade Kelderman assists)
2-8
15:35
+3
Gyasi Powell makes three point jump shot (Joe Anderson assists)
5-8
15:16
+3
Milan Momcilovic makes three point jump shot (Cade Kelderman assists)
5-11
14:57
Will Pruitt turnover (bad pass)
14:57
TV timeout
14:41
Joshua Jefferson misses three point jump shot
14:39
Grant Asman defensive rebound
14:28
Gyasi Powell misses two point jump shot
14:26
Joe Anderson offensive rebound
14:09
+3
Gyasi Powell makes three point jump shot
8-11
13:55
Curtis Jones misses two point jump shot
13:53
Will Pruitt defensive rebound
13:25
+2
Jacob Ognacevic makes two point jump shot (Will Pruitt assists)
10-11
12:54
+2
Curtis Jones makes two point jump shot (Joshua Jefferson assists)
10-13
12:37
Grant Asman misses three point jump shot
12:35
Tamin Lipsey defensive rebound
12:31
Tamin Lipsey turnover (lost ball) (Joe Anderson steals)
12:23
+3
Jacob Ognacevic makes three point jump shot (Joe Anderson assists)
13-13
12:00
+2
Curtis Jones makes two point jump shot
13-15
11:40
+3
Joe Anderson makes three point jump shot (Grant Asman assists)
16-15
11:18
Curtis Jones turnover (bad pass)
11:18
TV timeout
10:55
Joe Anderson misses two point layup
10:53
Milan Momcilovic defensive rebound
10:39
+3
Milan Momcilovic makes three point jump shot (Curtis Jones assists)
16-18
10:27
Miles White misses three point jump shot
10:25
Brandton Chatfield defensive rebound
10:13
+2
Nate Heise makes two point layup (Curtis Jones assists)
16-20
9:52
Jacob Ognacevic misses three point jump shot
9:50
Brandton Chatfield defensive rebound
9:48
Miles White personal foul
9:39
+3
Milan Momcilovic makes three point jump shot (Tamin Lipsey assists)
16-23
9:24
Will Pruitt misses three point jump shot
9:22
Nate Heise defensive rebound
9:04
Joshua Jefferson misses two point hook shot
9:02
Miles White personal foul
8:56
+2
Milan Momcilovic makes two point jump shot (Joshua Jefferson assists)
16-25
8:39
Joe Anderson misses three point jump shot
8:37
Dishon Jackson defensive rebound
8:26
+2
Milan Momcilovic makes two point layup
16-27
8:23
Bisons 30 second timeout
8:01
Joshua Jefferson blocks Charlie Williams's two point layup
7:59
Dishon Jackson defensive rebound
7:41
TV timeout
7:33
Tamin Lipsey misses three point jump shot
7:31
Joshua Jefferson offensive rebound
7:18
+2
Milan Momcilovic makes two point jump shot
16-29
7:01
Curtis Jones personal foul
6:46
+3
Charlie Williams makes three point jump shot (Gyasi Powell assists)
19-29
6:24
+2
Dishon Jackson makes two point layup (Joshua Jefferson assists)
19-31
6:11
Jacob Ognacevic misses three point jump shot
6:09
Dishon Jackson defensive rebound
6:00
Curtis Jones misses two point jump shot
5:58
Will Pruitt defensive rebound
5:45
Charlie Williams turnover (bad pass) (Joshua Jefferson steals)
5:40
+2
Joshua Jefferson makes two point dunk
19-33
5:25
Milan Momcilovic personal foul (Gyasi Powell draws the foul)
5:19
Joe Anderson misses two point jump shot
5:17
Nate Heise defensive rebound
4:59
Joshua Jefferson turnover (lost ball) (Kellan Boylan steals)
4:57
Milan Momcilovic shooting foul (Kellan Boylan draws the foul)
4:57
Kellan Boylan misses regular free throw 1 of 2
4:57
Kellan Boylan misses regular free throw 2 of 2
4:57
Nate Heise defensive rebound
4:29
Milan Momcilovic misses two point jump shot
4:27
Bisons defensive rebound
3:59
+2
Kellan Boylan makes two point jump shot (Grant Asman assists)