Completed Event: Men's Basketball at #23 Creighton (Exhibition) on October 17, 2025 , Loss , 58, to, 71
Final
Men's Basketball
58
#23 Creighton (Exhibition)
71
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Iowa State University Athletics
Sunday, October 26
Ames, Iowa
12:00 PM
Iowa State
0-0,0-0Big 12
80
vs
72
Northwestern (Exhibition)
0-0,0-0Big Ten
1
2
F
Northwestern
40
32
72
Iowa St.
37
43
80
Photo by: Jeff Spaur
Cyclones Surge Past Northwestern in Second Exhibition
10.26.2025 | Men's Basketball
AMES, Iowa – No. 16 Iowa State used a strong second half to surge past Northwestern Sunday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum, winning its second exhibition over the Wildcats by a score of 80-72.
After trailing by three at the break, ISU outscored the Wildcats by 11 in the second half behind strong performances from Nate Heise and Joshua Jefferson. The Cyclones shot 50 percent from the field and behind the arc in the second stanza as they ended up pulling away from a Northwestern team in its first action of the exhibition season.
Jefferson played a game-high 34 minutes and finished with 17 points and seven boards, shooting 55 percent from the floor. Nate Heise had a Cyclone high 19 points, as the senior connected on a game-high five triples. Utah Valley transfer Dominick Nelson had 17 points and a game-high four steals. Killyan Toure was the fourth and final Cyclone to finish in double figures as he ended with 11 points to go along with three steals, six boards and five assists.
Nick Martinelli, the 2024-25 Big 10 scoring leader, had a game-high 20 points. Joining Martinelli in double figures for the Wildcats were Tre Singleton (14), Arrinten Page (10) and Max Green (10). Singleton led the squad in rebounds with five, while Jordan Clayton had a team-best four assists.
The Cyclones shot 50 percent from the field on the day and 41 percent (9-22) from beyond the arc, besting Northwestern in each category. ISU also improved its free throw shooting from the first exhibition, cashing 81 percent of its freebies. Iowa State finished with more bench points (24), second chance points (11) and points in the paint (34) than the Wildcats.
How it Happened
Northwestern jumped out to a quick 12-6 lead by the 15:37 mark, but that would be its largest advantage of the afternoon. ISU answered NU's run with one of their own, rattling off six straight to tie things up at 12.
The Cyclones took their first lead on a Killyan Toure free throw at the 11:57 mark. An alley oop from Toure to Nelson then jump-started an ISU run as the Cyclones were able to push their lead to eight, leading to a Wildcat timeout with 10:29 on the clock.
The Wildcats came out of the timeout refocused and would eventually tie things back up at 26-all with just under seven minutes remaining. NU outscored the Cyclones 14-11 down the stretch and took a three-point cushion into the locker room.
Northwestern opened the second half by extending its lead again to six, tying its largest lead of the afternoon.
Iowa State buckled down on defense from there and rallied to take a 52-48 lead forcing a Wildcat timeout with 12:21 left in the game.
ISU wouldn't surrender its lead for the remainder of the contest, at one point extending its lead to as large as 11 points as it went on to win its second and final exhibition of the year, 80-72.
Key Performer
Nate Heise determined the Cyclones weren't going to lose, as he scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half and made a game best five 3-pointers. He finished shooting 7-10 from the floor and 5-7 from deep with a rebound and a pair of assists.
Up Next
The next time the Cyclones take the floor, it'll be the real deal. ISU will welcome FDU to Hilton Coliseum on Monday, Nov. 3, for the 2025-26 opener. Iowa State will face the Knights at 7 pm and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
NU
IowaSt
FG%
.480
.500
3FG%
.381
.409
FT%
.667
.810
RB
30
29
TO
17
14
STL
7
14
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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