Iowa State got the 2025-2026 season off to a good start Monday night against Fairleigh Dickinson in Hilton Coliseum, earning an 88-50 win over the Knights.
The Cyclones started the game with Tamin Lipsey,
Josh Jefferson, and Milan Momcilovic on the floor, along with Virginia transfer Blake Buchanan and true freshman Frenchman Killyan Toure, who was a standout during preseason scrimmages.
Despite coming off an injury that sidelined him for the last month, Lipsey looked healthy and strong, pouring in 18 points on 8/13 shooting and racking up five assists, five steals, and six rebounds.
Jefferson had a quiet double-double, finishing with 14 points on 5/10 shooting and ten rebounds in twenty-nine minutes of action, which led the team.
The freshman Killyan Toure only played nine minutes, but scored nine points of his own. It was plain to see that his speed in transition and aggressiveness on defense will force T.J. Otzelberger to play him early and often this season, but he did hit one three-pointer in his debut. If he’s able to be good enough from distance to warrant a few attempts per game, that would be an extremely welcome development for this squad.
However, the best performance of the night easily goes to Milan Momcilovic, who overcame a couple of rough performances in the scrimmages against Creighton and Northwestern to score a career-high 29 points on 11/16 shooting and an amazing 7/10 from behind the three-point line. Milan will often be counted on to be the leading scorer for this team, so seeing him put together a game like this is a great sign.
Next up for Iowa State is a date with Grambling State on Thursday at 7 PM in Hilton Coliseum.
