Gilbert Powers No. 5 ISU Past Dayton

MAUI, Hawai'i – A bloodied Keshon Gilbert willed No. 5 Iowa State (4-1, 0-0 Big 12) past Dayton (5-2, 0-0 A-10) on Tuesday at the Maui Invitational, pouring in a season-high 24 points in his second-straight 20-plus point performance.

With both teams desperate for a tournament win and coming off disappointing blown leads in the first round, action was plentiful in the consolation match. The normally suffocating ISU defense met a hot Dayton offense who shot 58 percent from the field, which featured a 64 percent first half from the Flyers.

With the score tied up at 81-all with a minute-twenty remaining on the clock, ISU came down the court and got into their offensive set. A Joshua Jefferson 3-pointer was no good, but a Nate Heise board and pass to Gilbert for a putback attempt were met by Zed Key's elbow, resulting in a flagrant one on the Dayton big man. Gilbert's forehead was bloodied, but the senior went to the charity stripe and knocked down a pair of pressured free throws with no one around him to put ISU up two. With the flagrant, the Cyclones kept possession, and on the ensuing play, ISU ran the same action that failed the night prior as Gilbert split a double, drove the lane, and laid it up to put ISU on top by four.

The Cyclones were able to salt it away from there, as Gilbert, as well as Jefferson, cashed in free throws down the stretch to secure the victory. Keshon finished with a game-high 24 points, while Curtis Jones was right behind him with 19. The two seniors had to carry the backcourt load, as preseason All-Big 12 selection Tamin Lipsey was sidelined with foul trouble for most of the game. Dishon Jackson (12) and Milan Momcilovic (10) also finished in double figures. After playing a season-low in minutes versus No. 4 Auburn, Brandton Chatfield made a huge impact off the bench in his season-high 18 minutes of play.

ISU finished shooting 52 percent from the floor, a season-best, but only shot 24 percent from deep, tying a season low. The team, again, though was clutch at the charity stripe, tallying 25-29.

As for Dayton, Malachi Smith had a team-high 22 points, which doubled as his own personal best game of his career. Smith fell one assist shy of a double-double as he ended with nine dimes. Enoch Cheeks (16), Zed Key (15) and Nate Santos (12) finished in double figures for the Flyers.

How it Happened
Tuesday's action got off to an inauspicious start for the Cyclones, as unlike Monday when the team took an early lead, ISU found itself down nine points not even five minutes into the contest.

Iowa State bounced right back, rattling off a 12-3 run to tie the game up at 18-all just under the ten-minute mark of the first half. Neither side would build a lead from there, as one side would go up and the other would answer, as the two teams found themselves tied four times in a four-minute stretch.

From the five-minute mark to the two-minute mark, Dayton was able to re-open a nine-point lead on the Cyclones, who were being sustained purely by Momcilovic. Milan made four baskets from 5:32 to 1:18, accounting for all 10 ISU points during that stint.

ISU was limited on offense, as Lipsey dealt with foul trouble and the offense stagnated. The Cyclones were held without a 3-pointer until Momcilovic took the lid off the basket with just over two minutes left in the half. A Curtis Jones triple with four seconds left cut the Dayton lead to four as ISU went into the break down for the first time all season.

The Cyclones wasted little time in the second stanza getting back into things, tying the game up at 41 apiece with 18:24 to go. The Cyclone momentum carried into the middle of the second half, as ISU opened up a nine-point lead of its own, its largest of the game, with eleven minutes to play.

Like ISU, Dayton battled back to tie the contest up with 4:40 left to play. The Flyers actually retook the lead on a Smith lay-in with 3:30 left, but it was all Cyclones from there. Iowa State made eight of eight freebies down the stretch to ice things away.

Key Performer
Keshon Gilbert was everything the Cyclones needed and then some this evening, as the senior from St. Louis went 6-8 from the floor and 12-14 from the stripe. Whenever the Cyclones needed a basket, he made it. Gilbert also tallied three boards and three assists, as well as three steals, as he played a team-high 36 minutes.

Notes

Tamin Lipsey fouled out for the fifth time in his career.
Curtis Jones cashed his 175^th career triple this evening.
- He now has 177 in his collegiate tenure.
Keshon Gilbert started his 75th career game against Dayton.
- It was the second time in his career he recorded consecutive 20-point outings.

Up Next
With the win, Iowa State advances to the fifth-place game, where they will meet Big 12 foe Colorado in a bit of a scheduling quirk – the first meeting of three this season. The old Big 12 foes will get a jump start on a renewed rivalry tomorrow afternoon as tip is scheduled for 1:30 CT and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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Team Stats

Keshon Gilbert

Curtis Jones

Dishon Jackson

Milan Momcilovic

Players Mentioned

Brandton Chatfield

Keshon Gilbert

Nate Heise

Dishon Jackson

Joshua Jefferson

Curtis Jones

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Players Mentioned

Brandton Chatfield

Keshon Gilbert

Nate Heise

Dishon Jackson

Joshua Jefferson

Curtis Jones

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

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