Arizona taken out of the game in the first half losing at Iowa State

Iowa State took control of the game halfway through the first half on their way to comfortably beating Arizona on Saturday night in Ames.
Iowa State Cyclones center Dishon Jackson (1) dunks the ball around Arizona Wildcats forward Henri Veesaar (13) during the first half in the Big-12 men’s basketball showdown at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday March 1, 2025 in Ames, Iowa.
Iowa State Cyclones center Dishon Jackson (1) dunks the ball around Arizona Wildcats forward Henri Veesaar (13) during the first half in the Big-12 men’s basketball showdown at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday March 1, 2025 in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa State had an 11-2 run midway through the first half and was in control throughout in an 84-67 win over Arizona on Saturday night in Ames. Arizona led 4-1 before Iowa State scored the next six points and never trailed after that. Iowa State later extended the lead to 23-11 and led 43-30 at halftime.

Iowa State took its biggest lead 62-38 with 12:38 left in the second half. Arizona rallied and got as close as nine with under three minutes left, but the hole was too big for Arizona to seriously challenge Iowa State. Milan Momcilovic scored 14 of his team-high 17 points in the first half on 5-7 from the field and 4-5 three-point attempts.

Momcilovic led five Cyclones in double figures. Jaden Bradley led Arizona with 18 points, K.J. Lewis had 13 and Caleb Love scored 10 on 2-15 from the field and 2-10 on three-point attempts. Tobe Awaka had his three-game double-double streak broken with four points and five rebounds.

Henri Veesar had eight points and five rebounds and Carter Bryant nine and six. Tommy Lloyd has stated he needs Anthony Dell'Orso to be more of a catch-and-shoot player. Dell'Orso did not have a shot in 11 minutes on Saturday. Arizona shot 33.3 percent from the field and made four of 22 three-point attempts.

Iowa State shot 50.0 percent and made 11 of their 21 three-point attempts. Iowa State recorded 17 assists to nine for Arizona and it shows in the shooting percentages. In addition to Momcilovic, three Iowa State players made multiple three-point shots on Saturday night.

Arizona hosts Arizona State in its final home game of the season at 9 PM Mountain Time on Tuesday and is at Kansas next Saturday in the final game of the 2024-25 regular season. The Big 12 Tournament will begin for Arizona on either March 12 or 13 depending if Arizona can earn a double-bye to the quarterfinals.