The Iowa State men’s basketball team is 2-0 after Sunday night’s 72-50 win over Chicago State. The Cyclones survived a tough shooting night with solid defense, forcing Chicago State to shoot only 28.6 percent front the field.
Important Numbers
– Craig Brackins and Marquis Gilstrap combined to go 4-for-23 from the field. Obviously, that makes things hard on an Iowa State basketball team that revolves around the duo. Gilstrap ended the night with 11 points and 15 rebounds. That was his first career double-double in an Iowa State uniform. Brackins scored seven points, while grabbing eight boards.
– Scott Christopherson led the Cyclones in scoring totaling 12 on the night. The Marquette transfer went 4-of-6 from the field while knocking down two 3-pointers.
– Jamie Vanderbeken got his first real taste of basketball in 2009 against Chicago State. He was one of the lone offensive bright spots for Iowa State in the win, going 3-for-3 from 3-point range.
– Iowa State ended up shooting only 40.7 percent from the field. The Cyclones shot the 3-ball well though, going 9-for-16 from long range.
– Iowa State held Chicago State’s best player, Carl Montgomery, to a 1-for-10 night shooting. Montgomery only scored five points against the Cyclones in 27 minutes of play.
– Iowa State out-rebounded Chicago State 44 to 38.
– Diante Garrett had another solid night for Iowa State from the point guard position. Garret handed out five assists, putting him 13th on Iowa State’s all-time list.
Chris’ Thoughts:
The Cyclones are lucky that Chicago State was in town this evening. The Cougars weren’t very good and neither was Iowa State’s offensive output. Overall, it was just a flat offensive performance for the Cyclones but hey, what are these early non-conference games for anyway?
The Cyclones were thrown a curveball tonight when they learned they’d have to play without LaRon Dendy. The Indian Hills Community College JUCO transfer has been Iowa State’s spark plug so far this season and the team did miss a step or two without his energy against the Cougars.
Dendy will likely be out for about two weeks with a sprained knee. Let’s hope that he’s back for the Chicago Invitational that begins with a game against St. Louis on Nov. 27. It sounds like he will be.
Iowa State’s depth won this game tonight. Two years ago, this could have gone down as a loss. That’s the big plus in being able to go 10 deep. Not everybody can be off in one night right? Brackins and Gilstrap were ice cold. Christopherson, Vanderbeken and Justin Hamilton picked up the slack. It was a team victory.
The Cyclones will have a short turnaround before Tuesday night’s showdown with Drake. The Bulldogs have beaten Iowa State three straight times.
Tuesday night’s tip from the Knapp Center will be at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Mediacom.
