By: Sam Stuve
You ever hear the old saying, “A wins a win?”
Well, that’s probably what head coach T.J. Otzelberger and the rest of the Iowa State men’s basketball program are probably saying after an 84-73 win over Kennesaw State on Tuesday.
It wasn’t a very pretty game, to say the least, but it was a solid opening to the season for the Iowa State men’s basketball team.
These 57 fouls, led to a combined 69 free throw attempts, 33 by Iowa State (made 22) and 36 by Kennesaw State (made 26).
In a game that featured 57 fouls and four players fouling out at the end of the game, Iowa State got an 11 point victory thanks to its ability to create turnovers and strong guard play.
Kennesaw State had 24 turnovers on Sunday, 14 of which were Iowa State steals. But while Kennesaw State had turnover problems, so did Iowa State, as Iowa State had 22 turnovers, 11 of which were steals by Kennesaw State.
Gabe Kalsheur, a transfer from Minnesota, led all Iowa State players in scoring with 19 points on five for 11 shooting, one of six from beyond the three-point line and he shot eight of 13 from the free-throw line.
He also had one assist and two steals but committed six turnovers.
Closely behind Kalscheur in point total for Iowa State was Penn State transfer Izaiah Brockington with 18 points on six for 10 shooting, one of two from the three-point line, and a perfect five of five from the free-throw line before fouling out in the second half of the game.
Making his first start in his collegiate game, was guard Tyrese Hunter, who had 11 points on three of six shooting from the field, two of four from the three-point line, and three of six from the free-throw line in addition to having six rebounds, five assists and four steals.
For Kennesaw State, it was the Terrell Bruden show.
He led not only Kennesaw State in scoring with 21 points and four of eight from the field.
What’s amazing about his stat line is that he was able to get to the free-throw line for 19 attempts, 13 of which he made.
Iowa State never let Kennesaw State lead in this one, as it took the first lead of the game on a three by Hunter, it never looked back. Iowa State’s largest lead of the game was 17, which it had in the second half.
Kennesaw State kept it close no doubt, but after Iowa State went on a 9-2 run to close the half, Iowa State was able to go into halftime with a 37-29 lead at halftime.
In the second half, Iowa State’s offense led the way with 47 points in the half, while Kennesaw State had 44.
The Cyclones shot 52.9 percent from the field (27/51), 32 percent from beyond the three-point line (8/25) and 66 percent from the free throw line (22/33). The Owls shot 43 percent from the field (20/46), 35 percent from the three-point line (7/20) and 72 percent from the free-throw line (26/36).
This is a nice solid start in the Otzelberger era, but a bigger test awaits.
On Friday Iowa State plays host to an Oregon State Beavers program that made a surprise Elite 8 run in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
