Iowa men dominate Iowa State to win at Hilton for first time since 2003

AMES, Ia.— The 2019 Cy-Hawk men’s basketball showdown seemed to have all the intangibles of another memorable matchup.

There was still tension from last year's ending. There was excitement building for what on paper should have been an even matchup. And there was even some social media trash talk by one of the team’s biggest stars.

You can thank Iowa's dominance for the game lacking that drama.

Iowa flexed its muscles early on, jumped out to a big lead and rolled past Iowa State, taking down the Cyclones 84-68 at Hilton Coliseum on Thursday night. The win was the first for the Hawkeyes in Ames since the 2003 NIT.

And outside of the pre-game hype for the showdown and a brief second half surge by Iowa State, there was never really any doubt the result.

It was far from the type of game everyone had come to a expect, especially a year after a pair of scuffles broke out between the two sides in Iowa's 2018 victory. The tension continued to build heading into the game, as Iowa star Jordan Bohannon playfully feuded with former Cyclones star Georges Niang.

But the on-floor excitement quickly died down.

Iowa came out hot, hitting four of their first five shots, including their first three 3-point attempts. The Hawkeyes used a 10-0 run to take an 18-4 lead on a jumper by Luka Garza. Iowa State never could slow down the Hawkeyes in the first half. Iowa piled onto the advantage, using a 7-0 run later in the half to go in front 38-16.

Iowa State, which it has so many times already this season, struggled to get going offensively, shooting just 34.4 percent (11-for-32) from the field in the first half, including just 15.4 percent (2-for-13) from 3-point range. It wasn’t until the final two minutes before the break that Iowa State finally found its footing, hitting its last three shots and pulling to within 39-24.

The Cyclones did make things interesting briefly in the final 20 minutes. After baskets by Solomon Young and Michael Jacobson, Iowa State cut the lead to 11. Iowa State even cut the lead to seven with a 7-0 run later on. But Young missed a free throw following a layup, and that’s as close as it got. Iowa answered on the next possession with Connor McCaffery connecting on a 3. Joe Wieskamp followed that with a basket and free throw to push Iowa’s lead back to 50-37.

Iowa kept piling on, using an 11-0 run later in the second half to salt things away. Garza finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Wieskamp had 13 points, Bohannon and McCaffery had 12, and C.J. Fredrick added 11.

Tyrese Haliburton was one of the few bright spots for Iowa State, scoring 22 points, grabbing five rebounds and handing out five assists.