AMES, Iowa — Iowa State knocked off the nation’s final unbeaten team on Tuesday night and delivered a message in the process.
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.
The Cyclones (12-3, 1-1 Big 12) entered the game with the 284th-toughest schedule, and they were eager to quiet critics who had said their record is misleading.
Iowa State secured its seventh win against a top-10 opponent in the last two seasons — most in Division I. Houston (14-1, 1-1) had a nation’s-best 12-game road winning streak snapped in the program’s first Big 12 road contest.
ISU 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 the lead at 53-51.
Jamal Shead split a double team and made a jumper with 55.9 seconds left to tie it at 53-all.
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.
“We work on that every day and practice that last-second shot,” Momcilovic said. “Obviously, the fade-away I do a lot, so it’s comfortable. They came with a double and I shot right over the smaller defender. It’s a shot I work on every day.”
Ward scored nine points off the bench on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the field.
Emanuel Sharp scored 20 points, reaching the mark for the fourth time this season, for Houston. Shead added 14 points, becoming the 51st player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. Cryer, averaging a team-high 17.1 points per game, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with five points.
