Down by 14 points early in the second half, the Cyclones shut down the hot-shooting Cougars to just 7-of-30 shooting (23.3%) after intermission to record their fifth perfect home mark in Hilton Coliseum at 18-0. ISU’s 18 home wins ties the school record for most victories in season with the 1999-2000 team.
With 15:56 left in the game, BYU owned total control with a 46-32 lead. But Curtis Jones and Tamin Lipsey rallied the troops with 12 and 10 points, respectively, after intermission en route to the largest second-half comeback victory in the T.J. Otzelberger era. It also marked the 18th AP Top-25 win under Otzelberger.
BYU had plenty of chances at the end, but the Cyclones kept coming up with stops, holding the Cougars scoreless the final 4:24 minutes. Keshon Gilbert, who scored eight points and a team-high five assists, secured the victory with four-straight charity shots with under 10 seconds remaining.
Lipsey led all Cyclones with 19 points and five steals, padding his season steal total to 82, the second-most in school history. Curtis Jones added 18 points (7-of-13 FG), his 12th consecutive double-digit scoring game from off the bench.
Richie Saunders led the Cougars with 20 points.
Iowa State held a slim lead throughout the first 10 minutes of action until Saunders entered the game for BYU. Saunders scored seven points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in a 12-2 Cougar run to push the visitors out in front 24-18 with 7:16 left before the break.
After beginning the game missing its first five shots, BYU went on a torrid stretch, connecting on 12-of-15 attempts to move ahead 29-20.
Behind back-to-back baskets from Tamin Lipsey, the Cyclones were able to trim the lead to 30-27 with under three minutes left, but Dallin Hall and Saunders each hit treys in an 8-0 run to end the half to give the Cougars a 38-27 lead at the break. ISU shot just 32.4 percent from the field to BYU’s 58.0 percent.
BYU led by as many as 14 points and maintained its double-digit lead in the first seven minutes after intermission until Curtis Jones hit a deep trey and scored a lay-up on a runout to cut the lead to 51-45 with 11:40 left in the game.
The Cyclones kept plugging away. ISU got three points on three-straight possessions with two bombs from Lipsey and a conventional 3-point play from Curtis Jones and suddenly the game was tied at 56-all with 7:44 remaining.
ISU took a 61-58 lead on a lay-up from Lipsey moments later, but Trevin Knell hit a 3-pointer and Saunders made a pair of free-throws to push the Cougars back out in front (63-61) with four minutes left.
Both teams struggled to score down the stretch. Robert Jones scored a bucket and a free-throw to give the Cyclones the lead at 64-63. Jones missed a pair of free-throws with 22 seconds left, but Lipsey forced a turnover on the Cougars’ next possession. Keshon Gilbert was fouled with 10 seconds remaining, knocking down both free-throws.
Dallin Hall hoisted a 3-pointer that was off the mark and Gilbert iced the game with two more charity shots to seal the win.
Top Performers
Curtis Jones continued to make his case as the Big 12’s top bench player. Jones scored in double-digits for the 12th-straight game as a reserve with 18 points. He made big shots to help the Cyclones chip away at the lead. He was 3-of-7 from 3-point range, his ninth game this season with three more treys.
Notes
With five steals today, Tamin Lipsey moved into tenth place on the all-time ISU career steals list.
Lipsey now holds the second-most steals in a single ISU season.
Demarion Watson crossed the 600 career minutes threshold on the night.
Curtis Jones made his 300th career FG on the evening and now sits at 303.
Keshon Gilbert went over 400 points on the season, making him the first Cyclone over the mark.
With five assists, Gilbert surpassed 275 career assists.
Robert Jones went over 400 career field goals.
Hason Ward recorded his 150th career block.
Up Next
Iowa State travels to Manhattan on Saturday (March 9) to face Kansas State in the Big 12 regular-season finale. Tipoff is at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
