Iowa State Cyclones Made Presence Felt in Key Offensive Area Against Stonehill

The Iowa State Cyclones never trailed against the Stonehill Skyhawks, making the most of an advantage they held offensively.

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The Iowa State Cyclones had a bit of a trap game on Monday night against the Stonehill Skyhawks.

They were coming off a dominant performance against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, last Monday. It was their first real test of the season, and they passed with flying colors, winning 96-80 behind a dominant defensive performance.

Following the Stonehill matchup, they are set for huge matchups in Las Vegas during the Players Era Festival. They will face Big East powerhouses, the St. John’s Red Storm and Creighton Bluejays, before a third game that will be determined by the first two outcomes.

It would have been easy for Iowa State to overlook the Skyhawks in a buy game at Hilton Coliseum. But, instead of allowing their opponent to hang around, the Cyclones took control from the opening tip and cruised to victory.

Iowa State overwhelms Stonehill in the paint

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There are a few advantages Iowa State had coming into the game that they made the most of. An overmatched Skyhawks team was overwhelmed in the paint, which is where the Cyclones did most of their damage offensively.

52 of the team’s 96 points were scored in the paint. Joshua Jefferson and Tamin Lipsey tied for a team-high 23 points in the victory. Black Buchanan didn’t miss any of his three shot attempts and Milan Momcilovic went 4-for-5 on 2-point attempts in the game.

Team Defense.

Team Offense.#Cyclones | #C5C pic.twitter.com/DgqO5zRmSL

— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) November 18, 2025

The aggressiveness of attacking the basket and getting into the restricted area also led to plenty of free throw attempts. Iowa State had 30 attempts from the charity stripe, but wasn’t able to take full advantage.

They made only 19, good for an underwhelming 63.3%. Jefferson led the team with nine attempts but made only six. Dominic Nelson got to the line for six attempts but converted only two.

Cyclones improving free throw rate, still need to work on efficiency

Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

Free throws have been emerging as an area of concern in the early going. The Cyclones can be pleased that their free throw rate has improved after a slow start, but they need to capitalize on those opportunities and increase their efficiency.

At the very least, it is encouraging to see that Iowa State can still score a ton of points even when its 3-point shooting isn’t lights out. They converted 7-of-21 attempts from long range in the game.

Most of their damage was done in the paint and off turnovers, converting 20 Skyhawks miscues into 29 points.

There will be many more difficult challenges ahead for the Cyclones, but it is always nice to see a team handle business against an overmatched opponent. No hangover from the Mississippi State win or looking ahead to St. John’s occurred as they went into Hilton Coliseum and handled business appropriately.