MAUI, Hawaii – A bloody one Keshon Gilbert defeated No. 5 Iowa State (4-1, 0-0 Big 12) against Dayton (5-2, 0-0 A-10) in the Maui Invitational on Tuesday, scoring a season-high 24 in its second game points. direct performance of over 20 points.

With both teams desperate for a tournament win and suffering disappointing first-round leads, there was plenty of action in the consolation game. The normally suffocating ISU defense faced a hot Dayton offense that shot 58 percent from the field, with the Flyers shooting at 64 percent in the first half.

With the score at 81 and 20 minutes left to play with one minute left in the game, ISU entered the field and went on offense. A Joshua Jefferson 3-pointer wasn’t good, but a Nate Heise The board and pass to Gilbert for a putback attempt was deflected by Zed Key’s elbow, resulting in a blatant hit to the Dayton big man. Gilbert’s forehead was bloodied, but the senior went to the charity stripe and knocked down two pressured free throws with no one around him to put ISU up by two. With the flagrant, the Cyclones retained possession, and on the ensuing play ISU made the same move that had failed the night before, as Gilbert split a double, attacked the lane and fielded it to put ISU ahead by four bring.

The Cyclones were able to pull out the win from there as both Gilbert and Jefferson made free throws to secure the win. Keshon finished the game with a game-high 24 points Curtis Jones was right behind him at 19. The two seniors had to carry the load in the backcourt as preseason All-Big 12 selections Tamin Lipsey Had to sit out most of the game due to foul trouble. Dishon Jackson (12) and Milan Momcilovic (10) also finished in double digits. After playing a season-low minutes against No. 4 Auburn, Brandton Chatfield made a big impression coming off the bench in his season-best 18 minutes of play.

ISU shot 52 percent from the floor, a season high, but shot just 24 percent from deep, a season low. However, the team was able to prevail again against the charity team with a record of 25:29.

As for Dayton, Malachi Smith scored a team-high 22 points, which was also his personal best game of his career. Smith fell just one assist shy of a double-double as he finished with nine dimes. Enoch Cheeks (16), Zed Key (15) and Nate Santos (12) finished in double figures for the Flyers.

How it happened
Tuesday’s action got off to an inauspicious start for the Cyclones, as unlike Monday when the team took an early lead, ISU trailed by nine points not even five minutes into the contest.

Iowa State immediately rebounded, going on a 12-3 run to tie the game at 18 – all just under the 10-minute mark of the first half. Neither team would build a lead from there as one side would go up and the other would respond as the two teams were tied four times in four minutes.

From the five-minute mark to the two-minute mark, Dayton was able to rebuild a nine-point lead over the Cyclones, held only by Momcilovic. Milan scored four baskets from 5:32 to 1:18, securing all 10 of ISU’s points in the stint.

ISU’s offense was limited as Lipsey struggled with foul trouble and the offense was stagnant. The Cyclones went without a 3-pointer until Momcilovic took the lid off the basket a little more than two minutes before halftime. A Curtis Jones The three-pointer with four seconds left cut Dayton’s lead to four as ISU was forced to break down for the first time all season.

The Cyclones wasted little time in the second stanza getting back into the game, finishing the game at 41 with 18:24 left. The Cyclone momentum continued until midway through the second half, when ISU opened its own nine-point lead with 11 minutes to play, its largest of the game.

Like ISU, Dayton fought back to tie the contest with 4:40 to play. The Flyers actually took the lead with 3:30 left on a Smith lay-in, but from then on it was all Cyclones. Iowa State made eight of eight freebies down the stretch to put things on ice.

Main actor

Keshon Gilbert was everything the Cyclones needed and more so than tonight, as the St. Louis senior shot 6-8 from the floor and 12-14 from the stripe. Whenever the Cyclones needed a basket, he made it. Gilbert also had three boards and three assists along with three steals and played a team-best 36 minutes.

Notes

• Tamin Lipsey was fouled for the fifth time in his career.
• Curtis Jones conceded his 175th^Th Career triple tonight.

  • He now has 177 in his college tenure.

• Keshon Gilbert started his 75th career game against Dayton.

  • It was the second time in his career that he scored 20 points in a row.

Next
With the win, Iowa State advances to the fifth-place game, where they will face Big 12 opponent Colorado in a scheduling quirk – the first of three meetings this season. The old Big 12 foes will get a jump start on a renewed rivalry tomorrow afternoon as tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 CT and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.