AMES – Iowa State has returned to its late November-early December form.

The Cyclones hammered Colorado 97-67 on Thursday night in Hilton Coliseum, making it three straight double-digit wins for the top-10 ranked Cyclones vs. Big 12 opponents.

Junior wing Milan Momcilovic continues to prove himself as Iowa State’s shooting star. He scored five early points to help Iowa State enjoy an early lead. Momcilovic started the game 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and 5-7 from the floor.

Senior Nate Heise grabbed a season-high in rebounds in the victory for the Cyclones, who trailed only briefly in the game’s opening minutes.

Iowa State improves to 19-2 and 6-2 in Big 12 play with the win. The 19-2 start continues the mark for best beginning to a season in school history.

SLOW STARTS! BE GONE!

Iowa State trailed eight straight high-major opponents this season at the 10:00 of the first half before starting hot vs. UCF. The Cyclones turned one hot start into two, taking a 22-4 lead at Oklahoma State on Saturday. On Thursday night, Iowa State went to another level, starting the game on a 30-4 run.

Combined, in 28:20 of game action to open the UCF, Oklahoma State and Colorado games, Iowa State outscored its opponent 82-27 to open the three games. That’s called an ambush.

The Cyclones held Colorado without a bucket for about 5:00 during the run, and they started the game 5-of-6 from the 3-point arc following a Tamin Lipsey off-the-dribble trey in front of the Colorado bench.

During the Cyclones’ hot start, Colorado called three timeouts, including two within one minute of game time. Head coach Tad Boyle called the first in an attempt to put out the Cyclone fire. Less than a minute later, Colorado forward Sebastian Rancik was getting trapped without an available dribble, so he called a timeout.

When Jamarion Batemon hit one of Iowa State’s early 3-pointers, Boyle called Colorado’s third timeout as Iowa State enjoyed its 21-3 advantage.

ROLE PLAYERS HIT THE BOARDS

With Iowa State scoring more than 1.600 points per possession for much of the first half on Thursday night, the Cyclone coaching staff was able to provide reserve role players Nate Heise and Dominykas Pleta with increased opportunity in the first half. They rewarded T.J. Otzelberger for his decision.

Heise, who is in his second season with the program, and Pleta, who is a 21-year-old freshman from Germany, combined to grab 12 rebounds in the first half and score 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor.

Pleta continues to step into a growing role for the Cyclones. Four of his five rebounds in the first half were on the offensive glass. He turned two of those offensive rebounds into put-back baskets for Iowa State while also slamming home an alley-oop dunk.

“He can give us some great screening, some physicality on the offensive glass,” T.J. Otzelberger said of Pleta in a recent press conference. “Sealing guys around the basket. And then, he’s got really good hands, and he can score the ball.”

Heise had one offensive rebound that he turned into a tip-in, accounting for two of Iowa State’s eight second-chance points in the first half. Combined, Pleta and Heise scored six of Iowa State’s eight second-chance points in the first half and all five of their offensive rebounds.

“Nate’s a tremendous winner, tremendous competitor,” Otzelberger said earlier this season. “Stats don’t ever tell the story, but physical rebounds, cutting with purpose, extra passes, driving through contact. He is such a winning player.”

UP NEXT

Iowa State plays at Kansas State on Sunday afternoon in a rivalry matchup with the Wildcats.

Jerome Tang and the Wildcats are one of the Big 12’s lesser teams again this season, owning just a 10-11 overall record with a 1-7 Big 12 record. Kansas State’s only Big 12 victory this season is over Utah, which is widely regarded as the conference’s worst team.

The Wildcats are led by transfer guard P.J. Haggerty, who is scoring 23 points a game while assisting on about 4.5 baskets a game. The Wildcats are dealing with a number of players being out of the lineup, including sharpshooter Abdi Bashir, international product Elias Rapieque and veteran Mobi Ikegwuruka. On Thursday night, it was reported that Ikegwuruka was away from the program.

Sunday’s game is the only matchup this season between Iowa State and Kansas State.