Former Pewaukee basketball star Milan Momcilovic hits game-winning shot to help Iowa State take down undefeated Houston

Milan Momcilovic delivered for the Pewaukee High School basketball team time and time again during his incredible high school career.

Now in college, the freshman is doing the same for Iowa State.

With his Cyclones in a battle against undefeated and No. 2-ranked Houston Cougars on Tuesday night, Momcilovic came up big twice late in the game to give his team a 57-53 upset victory.

The first came with the score tied at 53 after the Cougars had just tied the game.

With the shot clock winding down, Momcilovic had a mismatch and called for the ball. With the ball in his hand, the 6-foot-8 forward didn't waste time, despite a second defender coming in an attempt at a trap. Momcilovic spun away from the defense, then calmly raised up and drilled a fadeaway from the left wing in front of his bench.

"That's kind of his spot," said head coach T.J. Otzelberger, a Milwaukee native and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater graduate, of Momcilovic's shot.

Then after Houston missed a 3-pointer on the other end, Momcilovic was fouled and canned both free throws with 10 seconds left.

"He had a lot of courage late in the game," Otzelberger said. "To see a freshman want the ball, make a shot with that degree of difficulty at that point in the game and then go to the foul line and finish the job is really impressive."

Milan Momcilovic stats at Iowa State

Tuesday's performance was the latest impressive game for Momcilovic, a four-star recruit coming out of Pewaukee.

Momcilovic chose Iowa State over Louisville, Michigan State, Minnesota, UCLA and Virginia.

He has started all 15 of the Cyclones' games and has scored in double figures in 13 of them. For the season, Momcilovic is averaging 13.3 points per game, 3.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists and shooting 48.9%.

Iowa State is 12-3.

Milan Momcilovic at Pewaukee High School

Momcilovic left Pewaukee as arguably the best player to ever wear a Pirates uniform.

He is the program's all-time leading scorer and led the Pirates to three straight state championships (2021, 2022 and 2023). The Pirates had an 81-9 record in those three seasons.

Momcilovic went out with a bang on the biggest stage last March at the Kohl Center. In the Division 2 state semifinal, he scored 32 points on 12 of 20 shooting to help the Pirates get past Nicolet in a 58-56 victory.

He was just as special a day later. Momcilovic poured in 29 points on 10 of 15 shooting in the Pirates' 71-54 win over Whitnall to put an exclamation point on his spectacular high school career. His 61 points in a single tournament for Division 2 are second most in WIAA history.

In a season in which he took home Associated Press and Gatorade state player of the year honors as well as co-Mr. Basketball, Momcilovic averaged 23.6 points per game, 9.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 blocks.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Iowa State freshman Milan Momcilovic hits big shot in win over Houston