Second Half Rally Leads No. 3 ISU Past Rival Hawkeyes

Thursday, December 12

Iowa City, Iowa

6:30 PM

Iowa State

8-1,0-0Big 12

Iowa

7-3,1-1Big Ten

Team	1	2	F
Iowa St.	37	52	89
Iowa	44	36	80

Photo by: Jeff Spaur

Second Half Rally Leads No. 3 ISU Past Rival Hawkeyes

12.12.2024 | Men's Basketball

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IOWA CITY, Iowa – No. 3 Iowa State (8-1, 0-0 Big 12) got all it could handle from in-state rival Iowa (7-3, 1-1 Big Ten) on Thursday evening, but the Cyclones came through when it counted, erasing a 13-point first-half deficit to defeat the Hawkeyes by a score of 89-80 and earn their first win in Iowa City in 10 years.

Iowa State now leads the yearly Cy-Hawk series 11-6, with four more events to go (swimming & diving, gymnastics, tennis and softball).

Iowa started fast and controlled the flow for the majority of the game, leading for just over 33 minutes of action. The resilient Cyclones battled back from an early double-digit deficit to trim the Hawkeye halftime lead to seven. Iowa continued to keep the Cyclones at bay to begin the second half, pushing its lead to nine with 12 minutes to go.

From there, the Cyclones buckled down and dug deep, ripping off a 13-4 run to tie things up at 66 by the under-eight media timeout. The Cyclones finally took their first lead of the night at the 3:05 mark, off a nice Joshua Jefferson pass to a cutting Nate Heise, and would grow that lead to as large as 10 as they went on to win by nine.

FIRST LEAD OF THE NIGHT FOR IOWA STATE! @CycloneMBB pic.twitter.com/m3z6BOndUT
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 13, 2024

Five Cyclones finished in double figures on the night, with super sixth-man Curtis Jones leading the way with 23 points – his third 20-plus point performance of the year and season high. Jefferson was massive in the paint, earning his third-straight double-double with 19 points and 10 boards, going 10-12 from the line, along with an ISU high seven assists. Dishon Jackson chipped in 12 points, while both Tamin Lipsey (11) and Nate Heise (10) also finished in double figures.

Iowa had six players finish in double figures, with big man Owen Freeman toting a team-high 16 points. Brock Harding finished with ten points and a game-high eight assists, while Josh Dix (14), Payton Sandfort (13), Ladji Dembele (11) and Drew Thelwell (10) rounded out the scorers in double figures. After shooting a scorching 59 percent from the floor and 54 percent from deep in the first half, the Hawkeyes shot just 32 percent from the floor and 27 percent from deep in the second stanza.

How it Happened
Iowa came out of the gates on fire, using a 3-of-3 start from the floor and a 2-of-2 start from deep to earn an early 8-4 advantage. ISU was able to keep up through the first media break. By the second media break though, Iowa's hot shooting continued, as the Hawkeyes were 5-6 from deep while ISU was 1-7 and it found itself down eight, 25-17.

Iowa's bigs found themselves open often from beyond the arc and they made it count, as Dembele and Freeman went a combined 3-3 to help Iowa maintain its lead. The Iowa advantage ballooned to as large as 13 with four minutes to go until the break. A quick 8-0 run by the Cyclones trimmed the lead to five before they'd eventually go into the break down seven.

Iowa continued to hold the lead for the majority of the second half, as every ISU attempt at a run was answered by the Hawkeyes. Eventually though, the Cyclones were able to get stops and convert on the other end, trimming the lead. By the 7:44 mark, the Cyclones had pulled even and could feel the momentum shifting.

The Hawkeyes had one last push in them, going back up four with seven minutes left, but the Cyclones again came back, tying it at 74 with just under four minutes left. The Cyclones took their first lead at the 3:05 mark on a Heise lay-in and would pull away from there.

A Jones layup and jumper would give the Cyclones the breathing room they needed before ISU would ice things away with clutch free throws down the stretch.

Iowa State attempted 70 field goals on the night for just the fourth time under T.J. Otzelberger.

Key Performer
Joshua Jefferson did it all for the Cyclones this evening. In his first taste of Cy-Hawk basketball, Jefferson fell just three assists shy of a triple double, dominating the paint all evening for ISU. He now has four double-doubles on the year.

Notes

Nate Heise played in his 100th career game this evening.
- He cashed his 200th career free throw on the evening.
Joshua Jefferson eclipsed 75 career free throws.
- He is now one assist shy of 100 in his career.
Tamin Lipsey made his 275th field goal in an ISU uniform.
Curtis Jones pulled down his 350th career rebound and now has 352.
Keshon Gilbert dished his 200th career assist at Iowa State.
Milan Momcilovic dished his 50 career assist tonight and now has 51.

Up Next
Iowa State will return to Hilton Coliseum for the first part of a two-game homestand on Sunday for an afternoon meeting with Omaha. Sunday's game is scheduled to tip off at noon and the game will be broadcast on CSB Sports Network.