Sunday, December 31st, 2023

 Happy New Year's Eve!

There are two things that I wanted to blog about today... the first of which was today's ISU basketball game that I took Maxwell to, in which the Cyclones defeated the New Hampshire Wildcats, 85-70. The Wildcats play in the America East Conference, and they are from Durham, New Hampshire.  

The memorable thing about today's game was that Keshon Gilbert recorded a triple double, which was only the eighth time that a Cyclone has ever accomplished the feat.  Gilbert had 10 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds.  Watching the game, I had no idea that he was close to a triple double.  Gilbert was joined in double figures scoring for the Cyclones by Tamin Lipsey (16), Milan Momcilovic (15), Tre King (13), Hason Ward (10), and Curtis Jones (10).  It was nice to see Hason Ward playing again, as he had missed the last 9 games after being injured against Idaho State. 

Today was Maxwell's 28th ISU men's basketball game.  

Iowa State 85, New Hampshire 70.

The second thing that I wanted to blog about is that I went down to Memphis to watch the Cyclones play in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.  Unfortunately, the Cyclones lost to the Memphis Tigers by a score of 36-26.  It was a quick trip down and back to Memphis for me.  Kickoff for the game was at 2:30 on Friday the 29th.  I had to work on Thursday, and after work I drove down to St. Louis where I stayed with the Gleasons.  My brother-in-law Brian came down to the game with me, and we left St. Louis around 6 AM on Friday.  We had enough time to tailgate for a while before heading into the game.  The weather was not great.  It was snowing for most of my drive down to St. Louis.  In Memphis it sprinkled lightly and was cold (40 degrees).  Iowa State's offence was completely one-dimensional, as they had ZERO rushing yards.  Rocco Becht threw for a school record 446 passing yards, which was fun at least.  

After the game, Brian and I went over to Beale street for some food and entertainment.  We tried to get into King Jerry Lawler's Hall of Fame Bar & Grille, but it was packed.  We grabbed supper at The Pig on Beale, where we each had pulled pork sandwiches.  They were tasty.  Afterwards, we headed over to Silky O'Sullivan's.  It was a dueling piano bar, and it was a lot of fun!  They also had 32 oz beers for only $8, which I though was great.  I had a couple of Yuengling beers, which I had never tried before.  

This was my third trip down to Memphis to watch ISU in the Liberty Bowl.  I had also attended the 2017 game (a win against Memphis) and the 2012 game (a loss against Tulsa).  

One of Brian's friends has a daughter in the marching band, who we were able to see.

The stadium did fill in better after this, but it was no where close to a sell-out like it was in 2017.  Memphis fans outnumbered Cyclones.

Thursday, December 21st, 2023

 Tonight Nolan and I attended the Iowa State men's basketball game against Eastern Illinois.  The Cyclones ran past the Panthers by a score of 80-48.  Eastern Illinois plays in the Ohio Valley Conference, and they are from Charleston, Illinois.  

The Cyclones had a balanced scoring attack today, as one player scored 18 and three others scored 16 points apiece.  I would say that Tamin Lipsey was the player of the game for the Cyclones, as he filled up the stat sheet the most (16 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals).  Curtis Jones led the team with 18 points, Robert Jones had 16, and Milan Momcilovic had 16 (all in the second half).  

This was Nolan's 33rd men's basketball game, and it was my second time watching ISU play against Eastern Illinois.  The Cyclones had defeated the Panthers by a score of 101-53 back in 2018.

GO CYCLONES!

Sunday, December 17th, 2023

 We had a fun weekend in Ames hosting the GLEKS Christmas party.  The Gleasons, Lacinas, and grandma Becky all came over for the weekend (although most had to stay at a nearby hotel since we don't have a lot of sleeping space at the house).

During our get-together we had a gift exchange, played lots of games (pig it and hog it, Secret Hitler, Hues and Cues, spoons), and we had lots of good food.  Yesterday we went out to Hickory Park, and today we ordered Pizza Pit.  We also had a foreign exchange student (Thomas) stop by for most of it.  

This afternoon most of us went over to Hilton for the ISU men's basketball game against the Florida A&M Rattlers.  The Saltons, Gleasons, and Thomas all went to the game.  This was Nolan's 32nd men's basketball game, and it was Maxwell's 27th game.  This was actually the second time that Maxwell and I have seen Iowa State play the Rattlers, as Florida A&M had upset the Cyclones back in 2019.

As for today's game, I would say that Tamin Lipsey was the player of the game, although it was a close call between him and Tre King.  Lipsey led the team with 19 points (including going 5-7 from three) and added 5 assists.  Tre King had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.  They were joined in double figures scoring for the Cyclones by Milan Momcilovic (14), Jackson Paveletzke (13), and Keshon Gilbert (10).  

Nolan and Maxwell posing with today's scoreboard.

Nolan got to enjoy a Clone Cone.  Maxwell had a soda and popcorn.

GLEKS cousins!

Sunday, December 10th, 2023

 Today I took Maxwell over to Hilton Coliseum, and we watched a dominant win for the Cyclones over the Prairie View A&M Panthers, 107-56.  

I would say that Tamin Lipsey was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he had 19 points, a school record 8 steals, and 5 assists.  Tamin was joined in double figures scoring by Curtis Jones (22 points, including 6 made threes), Keshon Gilbert (20), and Milan Momcilovic (15).  

For Maxwell, this was the 26th time that he has been to an ISU men's basketball game.  He enjoyed a Clone Cone today, but I suppose he was a bit bored with some of the game, as it was a blowout.  

For myself, this was actually the second time that I have seen the Cyclones play against Prairie View A&M.  The previous time was way back in 2011.  

Iowa State 107, Prairie View A&M 56.  

Thursday, December 7th, 2023

 I am excited tonight because Nolan and I just watched a fun basketball game over at Hilton Coliseum, where the Cyclones dominated the Iowa Hawkeyes, 90-65.  The 25 point margin of victory was the largest that Iowa State has ever had in this series!

Nolan was having a lot of fun at the game today, and it was great because the crowd was really loud for most of the game.  Nolan enjoyed dancing to Juicy Wiggle.  This was his first CyHawk basketball game, and it was his 31st men's basketball game overall.  He also got to enjoy a Clone Cone :)

As for myself, this was the sixth time that I have attended an Iowa State / Iowa basketball game.  The Cyclones have won five of those games (today, 2021, 2017, 2015, and in 2013).  

Keshon Gilbert was the player of the game today.  He led all scorers with 25 points and added 6 assists.  He was joined in double figures scoring for the Cyclones by Robert Jones (18), Tre King (17), and Tamin Lipsey (11).  There was an exciting moment in the second half where Gilbert had just scored on a drive to the paint.  Then Tamin Lipsey stole the long inbounds pass and threw it ahead to Gilbert, who immediately turned around and drilled a 3-pointer.  Gilbert scored 5 points in just a few seconds!

IT'S A CYCLONE STATE!