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Cyclones stomp Syracuse to go 3-0 in Vegas

AP PHOTO - Iowa State guard Nate Heise (0) scores past Syracuse forward Kiyan Anthony (7) during the first half of a college basketball game in the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025.

LAS VEGAS — Milan Momcilovic scored 24 points to lead No. 15 Iowa State to a 95-64 win over Syracuse in the final day of the Players Era Championship on Wednesday.

The Cyclones (7-0) won all three of their games at the tournament but were playing in the consolation round because of a point differential tiebreaker.

Killyan Toure scored 19 points for Iowa State alongside three others in double-figures: Josh Jefferson (13 points), Blake Buchanan (12) and Dominic Nelson (12). Iowa State shot 59% (36-of-61) from the field while limiting Syracuse to 39.3% (22-of-56).

Sadiq White Jr. led the Orangemen (4-3) with 14 points, while J.J. Starling and Tyler Bestey each added 10.

The first half ended with Iowa State leading 35-34, but the Cyclones went on a 14-2 run early in the second half to pull away. In that run, Momcilovic made two 3-pointers and Jefferson added six points.

Syracuse led 18-16 with 8:53 remaining in the first half when Iowa State went on a 12-0 run, sparked by 3-pointers from Momcilovic and Toure. But the Orangemen went on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 28-28 with 4:22 left behind 3-pointers from Betsey, Naithan George and Nate Kingz.

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Iowa State will host Alcorn State on Dec. 3. Syracuse will play at No. 17 Tennessee on Tuesday.

No. 15 Iowa St. 95, Syracuse 64

SYRACUSE (4-3) — Kyle 2-3 5-8 9, White 6-7 1-3 14, George 1-5 2-2 5, Kingz 2-6 0-0 5, Starling 4-9 1-2 10, Betsey 3-14 2-2 10, Anthony 3-8 1-2 8, Fennell 1-3 0-0 3, Souare 0-0 0-0 0, Diawara 0-0 0-0 0, Zephir 0-0 0-0 0, Lobdell 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS 22-56 12-19 64.

IOWA STATE (7-0) — Buchanan 6-8 0-0 12, Jefferson 6-14 1-2 13, Momcilovic 8-14 2-3 24, Heise 1-4 0-0 2, Toure 7-9 3-3 19, Batemon 2-4 0-0 5, Nelson 3-3 6-7 12, Pleta 3-4 1-2 7, Kelderman 0-0 0-0 0, Mitchell 0-0 1-2 1, Mulder 0-0 0-2 0, Rise 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS 36-61 14-21 95.

Halftime–Iowa St. 35-34. 3-Point Goals–Syracuse 8-28 (Betsey 2-10, White 1-1, Fennell 1-2, Anthony 1-3, Kingz 1-3, Starling 1-3, George 1-5, Lobdell 0-1), Iowa St. 9-20 (Momcilovic 6-10, Toure 2-3, Batemon 1-3, Heise 0-2, Jefferson 0-2). Fouled Out–White. Rebounds–Syracuse 25 (Betsey 6), Iowa St. 30 (Jefferson 6). Assists–Syracuse 15 (George 6), Iowa St. 18 (Jefferson 10). Total Fouls–Syracuse 14, Iowa St. 15.

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