TEMPE, ARIZONA – Iowa State senior guard Curtis Jones had another fabulous offensive showing on Saturday in the desert, as his career-high 33 points helped power an ISU (17-2, 7-1 Big 12) second-half comeback over Arizona State (11-8, 2-6 Big 12) as the Cyclones won 76-61.
Jones eclipsed his previous career high of 32 points with a deep triple as the game wound down. This marks back-to-back outings that Iowa State has had an individual player drop 30 or more points, as Joshua Jefferson had a career-best 30 against UCF last time out. It’s the first time that a different ISU player has scored at least 30 points in back-to-back games since Gabe Kalscheur and Izaiah Brockington did so in 2021.
After going into the break down seven, its largest deficit of the game, Iowa State clawed back to take a lead with nine minutes left. ISU then broke open a back-and-forth game with about five minutes left, earning a 15-point win as the Cyclones outscored the Sun Devils 19-3 down the stretch.
As mentioned, Jones led all scorers with 33 points, but he also chipped in seven boards. It’s his fourth straight game with at least six rebounds. Jefferson was also big for the Cyclones, grabbing his eighth double-double of the season, scoring 13 and grabbing 10 rebounds while also earning four steals – a game-high. Keshon Gilbert was the third and final Cyclone to finish in double figures, ending with 12 points and two steals.
Arizona State had just one player finish in double figures, as Adam Miller had 13 to lead the team. A pair of Sun Devil freshmen, Joson Sanon and Jayden Quaintance fouled out, hampering the ASU offense.
How it Happened
It was a slow start for the Cyclones in Tempe, as they went 0-6 in the first four minutes of the game, falling into a 0-5 hole. ISU quickly remedied the slow start, eventually evening things out at nine-all by the 12:30 mark.
After the 12:30 mark, ISU either held the lead or the game was tied until six minutes left in the first half, when an ASU triple gave the Sun Devils a one-point lead, 23-22. The teams would continue to trade baskets, eventually finding themselves tied at 30 with two minutes to go.
Arizona State finished the first half strong, going on a 10-3 run to close the half and take a seven-point lead into the half. The first half was choppy both ways, as multiple key players on each side picked up two fouls, stunting the offense. For ISU, both Lipsey and Jefferson had two fouls, while Arizona State’s big men Shawn Phillips and Jayden Quaintance each had two.
The Cyclones came out of the break with a plan to attack the Sun Devil lead, and began to do so immediately. What was a seven-point halftime lead eventually was whittled all the way down to one just three minutes into the stanza thanks to Jefferson, Lipsey and Dishon Jackson.
Arizona State had a response ready, though, re-extending the lead back to seven in just over a minute’s time. ISU flirted with taking the lead by the midway point of the second half but couldn’t quite get over the hump, tying things up at 50 with 11 minutes left.
Two minutes later though, ISU took its first lead at the nine-minute mark after trailing for the last 14 minutes of game time. The two teams would continue to wrestle for control until, eventually, a Gilbert 3-pointer with 4:43 left opened the floodgates.
He scored seven consecutive points to push an ISU one-point lead into an eight-point lead and essentially put the game out of reach. Jones also played a role in putting things away, as seven of his 33 points came in the final four minutes.
Key Performers
Though both Jefferson and Jones had better stats, Iowa State’s home stretch run was broken open by Keshon Gilbert. After dealing with some early foul trouble, he ignited the eventual game-clinching run late in the second half, burying a triple and collecting some timely steals.
Notes
Iowa State is now 29-7 as a team ranked in the Top 5 in the country.
ISU’s 7-1 league record through eight games is the second-best in school history (behind a 1944 8-0 start and tied with a 2000 7-1 start).
At 17-2, Iowa State’s record is tied with the 1995 squad for the best 19-game start in school history.
T.J. Otzelberger picked up his 16th road win at Iowa State, tying Larry Eustachy for the eighth-most in program history.
Iowa State’s 41 Big 12 wins under Otzelberger are tied for the second-most in the league during that span.
Curtis Jones has now scored in double figures in his 22-straight Big 12 regular season game, the longest streak in the league in over five years.
He is now 14th all-time in ISU history in career 3-pointers (127).
Tamin Lipsey recorded a steal in his 20th-straight game.
He now has a steal in 85 of the 88 games he has played in his career.
Brandton Chatfield appeared in his 125th career game today.
Keshon Gilbert eclipsed 800 points at Iowa State.
Up Next
The Cyclones will wrap up their desert trip Monday evening when they face off with Arizona on Big Monday. Monday’s contest is scheduled to tip off at 9:30 and will be broadcast live on ESPN.
