The 15th ranked Iowa State men opened the second half with a 20-5 run and went on to crush Syracuse 96-54 at the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas. ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger says the second half surge started with defense.

Milan Momcilovic finished with 24 points and Iowa State shot 59 percent to finish the tournament 3-0 and move to 7-0 overall.

Senior guard Tamin Lipsey missed his second straight game as he continues to battle a leg injury.

Fifth ranked Wartburg opens the NCAA Division III Playoffs at home on Saturday with a second round game against Wheaton of Illinois. The Knights finished the regular season 10-0.

That’s senior linebacker Keenan Tyler, who says the Knights are hoping to make a deep playoff run.

Tyler says the Knights are focused on Wheaton and not the playoff bracket.

The Iowa State wrestling team looks to snap a lengthy losing skid in the Cy-Hawk Series when the sixth ranked Cyclones host third ranked Iowa Sunday afternoon. Iowa has won the last 20 duals dating back to 2004.

That’s Cyclone coach Kevin Dresser, who says a win on Sunday would be a big step for the program.

Under Dresser, Iowa State has closed the gap. The last three duals have been close and many consider Sunday’s dual to be a toss up.

Sunday’s dual will have a national audience on ESPN. Iowa coach Tom Brands.

The modern rivalry dates back to the mid-70s when Iowa emerged as a national power.

Iowa center Logan Jones is a finalist for the Outland Trophy and will play his final regular season game against a school that recruited him, sort of. The Hawkeyes visit Nebraska on Black Friday and Jones was a star at Lewis Central High School in Council Bluffs.

Jones says Nebraska felt he was too small to play there but it all worked out for him.

Jones says Council Bluffs is dominated by Husker fans.

Iowa safety Zach Lutmer says a series of close games has elevated the intensity of the rivalry with Nebraska. The Hawkeyes have won nine of the last 10 in the series and the past two by identical 13-10 scores courtesy of field goals as time expired.

T.J. Lateef has replaced the injured Dylan Raiola at quarterback for the Huskers and has thrown for more than 390 yards in two starts.

Iowa State receiver Chase Sowell says the Cyclone offense is gaining momentum heading into Saturday’s game at Oklahoma State. Sowell has 28 receptions this season and 12 of them have come in the last three games.

Sowell says the confidence level is high after winning back-to-back games.*

Oklahoma State enters the game needing a victory to avoid a winless Big 12 season.

Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski is looking forward to competing in the rivalry against Nebraska. The Hawkeyes head to Lincoln having won nine of the last 10 in the series.

This series has featured mostly close games and Gronowski expects another one.

Nebraska’s run defense is giving up about 193 yards per game in Big Ten play and Gronowski says the Hawkeyes hope to take advantage.

Iowa State linebacker Cael Brezina says the Cyclones want to finish strong as they get ready to visit Oklahoma State. The Cyclones enter their final regular season game with a record of 7-4.

Brezina says the Cyclones are taking nothing for granted. It has been a horrible season for the Cowboys, who enter the game with a record of 0-8 in the Big 12.

Drake coach Joe Woodley is happy to be working over the Thanksgiving holiday. After winning a third straight Pioneer Football League title the Bulldogs open the FCS playoffs on Saturday with a visit to 12th ranked South Dakota.

It will be a rematch of a week three game won by South Dakota 42-21.

The Bulldogs had two costly turnovers in the first meeting. Woodley says to have a chance at an upset the Bulldogs must limit mistakes and big plays by the Coyotes.

Woodley says the Bulldogs will need to play better than they did in the first meeting to have a chance.

The Atlantic Trojans rebounded with a dominant 58-20 road win over the Denison-Schleswig Monarchs Tuesday night. It was a much cleaner and more rounded effort for Atlantic. After opening the game on a 15-0 run, the Trojans never looked back. Their defensive pressure forced numerous turnovers, which they turned into points. Meanwhile, the Trojans were able to take advantage of their opportunities as Atlantic’s big three led the way as Makenna Schroeder, Katrina Williams, and Zoey Kirchoff all finished with double-digit points. Although the trio was out in front, nine Trojans found the scoresheet in the team effort. More importantly, however, the Trojans felt much better about their process.

Despite Atlantic’s success on offense, it took a few minutes to get going. Two minutes into the game, the Trojans had managed just a single basket. However, the floodgates eventually opened, as the Trojans scored the first 15 points of the game. The first quarter was their most prolific as the Trojans scored 22 points. Their movement with and away from the ball was solid, and although they weren’t perfect, their tenacity and defensive pressure earned them the ball back when they weren’t. Zoey Kirchoff scored seven of her team leading twelve points in the opening frame, while Peyton McLaren and Brynn Lamp each added four. Defensively, the Trojans were near perfect. They forced numerous turnovers and held Denison-Schleswig to just three as they headed to the second quarter with a 22-3 lead.

Although the offense wasn’t as explosive in the second quarter, it was still very good. The Trojans were able to get to the free-throw line with regularity as they knocked down eight of their 10 free throws. Schroeder paced the second for the Trojans with four, which included her second three-pointer of the night. All in all, you couldn’t have scripted a better first half for the Trojans. They did everything they needed to do and walked into the locker room with a 31 point lead.

Not much changed in the second half. The starters did get some time in the third quarter, which Williams took advantage of, scoring seven. However, the fourth saw both teams go to their bench. Three Trojans got on the board in the final frame. Jayden Franken knocked down two field goals, while Maddison McLaren and Jillian Saathoff each knocked down one. However, more importantly than the offense statistics, the depth players keep up their intensity on defense and continued what the Trojans started. All in all, it was a solid effort from the Trojans, not just because of the score but because of how they played, and head coach Dan Vargason said as much.

He was also happy with how Schroeder, Kirchoff, and Williams performed and said there was no panic after Friday’s loss to Treynor.

Continuing to build the depth of the bench was also a positive, as the freshmen continued to perform well.

The Trojans moved to 1-1 on the season  heading into the Thanksgiving break, and Varagason said the win was great for the team’s confidence before the time off.

Atlantic will be back in action when they host St. Albert on December 1st.