(Milwaukee, WI) — Lipscomb had a 16-15 lead early in the first half but Iowa St. shook off their nerves and stormed away from the Bisons, winning 82-55 in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
While Will Pruitt is not Lipscomb’s leading scorer, Head Coach TJ Otzelberger identified him as the fuel for their offense so the UNI transfer Nate Heise got the defensive assignment and he responded holding Pruitt to just 7 points in the game on just 2-6 shooting and 0-3 from three point land. Heise says that Pruitt kind of reminded him of a player he might face in the Missouri Valley Conference when he was with the Panthers
Lipscomb was 8-28 overall on their three point shots which is only 29 percent. Iowa St. was 7-19 for 36 percent and Milan Momcilovic was 4-8 on his threes and led ISU with 20 points. That shooting performance got Heise’s attention
Curtis Jones put in 17 points off the bench, Johsua Jefferson had 10 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, Tamin Lipsey had 10 points and Heise added 9 points and 6 rebounds. Otzelberger says it was not the offense that stood out, it was the defense that fueled the offense
Iowa St. goes to 25-9 on the season and will face either Ole Miss or UNC in the 2nd round on Sunday, game time TBA, coverage on KSOM.
