AMES, Iowa — Tamin Lipsey scored 14 points, freshman Milan Momcilovic made a baseline jumper with 30.2 seconds left and Iowa State beat No. 2 Houston 57-53 on Tuesday night to knock off the nation’s final unbeaten team.
Iowa State (12-3, 1-1 Big 12) secured its seventh win against a top-10 opponent in the past two seasons — most in Division I. Houston (14-1, 1-1) had a 12-game road winning streak snapped.
Iowa State forward Hason Ward made two free throws with 1:20 remaining, but he was whistled for a lane violation on the second free throw to keep their lead at 53-51.
Houston’s Jamal Shead split a double team and made a jumper with 55.9 seconds left to tie it at 53-all.
After an Iowa State timeout, Momcilovic spun away from a double team and sank a jumper from a difficult angle for a 55-53 lead. L.J. Cryer‘s 3-pointer hit hard off the backboard and Momcilovic was fouled at 10.7 before making two free throws for a four-point lead.
Momcilovic finished with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting for Iowa State. His go-ahead shot was his first basket of the second half.
Emanuel Sharp scored 20 points, reaching the mark for the fourth time this season, for Houston. Shead added 14 points, surpassing 1,000 for his career. Cryer, averaging a team-high 17.1 points per game, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with five points.
Houston trailed at halftime, 31-21, for the first time this season after scoring its fewest points in any half. Iowa State scored 15 points off of 12 turnovers against a Houston team averaging just 9.1 turnovers per game. The Cougars were just 6-of-20 shooting (30%) in the first half, including 4 of 13 from distance.
Iowa State missed nine straight shots, going scoreless for over six minutes in the second half. Houston capitalized when Shead made a jumper from the free-throw line with 3:17 remaining for their first lead of the game at 51-50. Robert Jones ended the Cyclones’ drought with an easy layup.