Gabe Kalscheur poured in a game-high 30 points Friday night as Iowa State won the NIT Season Tip-Off, leading almost wire to wire in a 78-59 triumph over No. 9 Memphis in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Kalscheur canned 10 of 18 shots and grabbed eight rebounds for the Cyclones (6-0), who seem ticketed for the Top 25 on Monday after defeating No. 25 Xavier on Wednesday night before handing the Tigers (5-1) their first loss.
Emoni Bates scored 12 points for Memphis, which struggled offensively for the second straight game. After making only 39.3 percent of their shots Wednesday night while beating Virginia Tech 69-61, the Tigers hit just 35.8 percent on Thursday while mixing in 22 turnovers that led to 23 Iowa State points.
And the Memphis defense, which smothered the Hokies, couldn’t quite save them this time. Iowa State pulled away in the second half by sinking 53.8 percent of its field-goal attempts, establishing a 25-point lead at one point.
Tristan Enaruna and Aljaz Kunc each added 11 points for the Cyclones, who enjoyed a 28-16 advantage in points in the paint.
The Tigers led for just 1:59 after scoring the game’s opening bucket. Iowa State responded by scoring the next eight points, and the Cyclones never trailed again. Memphis stayed in contention during the half’s remainder by flashing some of the defense that helped it win Wednesday night.
Lester Quinones sank two foul shots with 2:12 left in the half to equal the score at 25, but the Cyclones took the lead for good with a 7-2 burst as Kalscheur supplied a 3-pointer and two foul shots to make it 32-27 at intermission.
Kalscheur maintained his hot hand to start the second half with eight points to help Iowa State increase the margin to 42-32 with 16:11 left. The Tigers pulled within 51-43 at the 10:28 mark when DeAndre Williams canned a 3-pointer, but Iowa State used a 20-4 burst to send the broadcasters scurrying for their blowout material.
–Field Level Media
