For much of the night, Houston Christian refused to let No. 3 Iowa State get comfortable. Then the Cyclones flipped the switch.
Behind a dominant closing stretch and a balanced effort across the lineup, Iowa State pulled away late to defeat Houston Christian 89-61 on Sunday night at Hilton Coliseum, finishing nonconference play unbeaten at 13-0 and matching just the second 13-win start in program history.
Iowa State set the tone early, scoring 10 straight points after Houston Christian opened the game with the first bucket. Joshua Jefferson and Milan Momcilovic each scored four early points as the Cyclones jumped ahead 10-2 within the first four minutes. But early turnovers stalled momentum, and Iowa State found itself clinging to a narrow 14-13 lead at the 10:58 mark after committing five turnovers in the opening nine minutes.
Houston Christian stayed aggressive, knocking down timely three-pointers to remain within striking distance. The Huskies trimmed the margin to 24-21 midway through the half, refusing to let the game drift away. It wasn’t until Momcilovic buried a three with 3:53 left in the half that Iowa State found breathing room, pushing the lead to double digits at 33-23. Jefferson reached double figures with 11 points, while Momcilovic climbed to seven as the Cyclones closed the half ahead 41-28.
The opening minutes of the second half mirrored the first — uneven for Iowa State and resilience from Houston Christian. The Cyclones struggled to stretch the lead, shooting just 3-of-10 from the field and missing all four three-point attempts early in the half. Houston Christian capitalized, scoring five straight points to cut the deficit to 55-44 with 11:17 remaining.
That was as close as it would get.
After a Houston Christian three trimmed the margin to 10, Iowa State responded emphatically. A decisive run — sparked by threes from Killyan Toure and Momcilovic — blew the game open, pushing the lead to 69-49 with 7:54 to play. From there, the Cyclones surged, outscoring the Huskies 22-5 over a five-and-a-half-minute stretch to put the game out of reach.
Jefferson anchored the effort with a complete stat line, finishing with 23 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Blake Buchanan delivered a breakout performance, posting a career-high 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for a double-double. Toure was perfect at the free-throw line early in the second half and helped ignite the decisive run.
By the final horn, Iowa State had turned a competitive contest into another convincing win, closing nonconference play with authority.
The Cyclones now turn their attention to Big 12 play, opening conference action Friday night at Hilton Coliseum against West Virginia, carrying momentum — and an unblemished record — into the league grind.
