Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Creighton (Exhibition) on October 17, 2025 at 7:30 PM
7:30 PM
Men's Basketball
Creighton (Exhibition)
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Iowa State University Athletics
Saturday, February 22
Houston, Texas
1:00 PM
Iowa State University
21-6,11-5Big 12
59
at
68
Houston
23-4,15-1Big 12
1
2
F
Iowa St.
22
37
59
Houston
34
34
68
Depleted Iowa State Fights To The End In 68-59 Loss At No. 5 Houston
02.22.2025 | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON – No. 5 Houston (23-4, 15-1 Big 12) was too much for undermanned No. 8 Iowa State (21-6, 11-5 Big 12) in a 68-59 victory Saturday afternoon at the Fertitta Center.
Defeating a top-five team on the road is difficult at full strength, but it proved to be more troublesome for the Cyclones without their top two scorers in Curtis Jones and Keshon Gilbert. Jones didn't make the trip with an illness and Gilbert sat out with an injury.
Despite the adversity, the Cyclone effort was valiant. Down by as many as 16 points, ISU battled back to within one point and were within reach until the final four minutes of the contest.
However, every time ISU was threatening, L.J. Cryer had the answer. Cryer scored a game-high 28 points, including 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc, making big shot after big shot.
Milan Momcilovic was key in ISU's comeback attempt, scoring all 16 of his points in the second half after missing his first eight shots. Nate Heise, who earned his first start as a Cyclone, tallied an ISU-high 12 points and hit a pair of big 3-pointers.
Tamin Lipsey nailed a trio of 3-pointers en route to 11 points and etched his name into the record book. The junior tallied two steals to give him 226 in his career, breaking the all-time Cyclone steal record previously held by Monte Morris.
How it Happened
At the 13-minute mark the Cyclones trailed 15-13. ISU was able to stay in it with three 3-pointers, including back-to-back triples from Heise and Lipsey.
Houston then took over. Milos Uzan hit two 3-pointers and Cryer hit a pair and soon UH led 30-15 with a 15-2 run. A pair of Brandton Chatfield free-throws were the only Cyclone points during the run, as ISU went nearly 10 minutes without a field goal until Lipsey buried a 3-pointer.
Cryer had 16 first-half points and was 4-of-4 from 3-point range to give Houston a 34-22 lead at the break.
Iowa State continued to battle and was down by 11 (40-29) at the first media timeout of the second half after Momcilovic buried a 3-pointer.
Lipsey's record-setting steal with 12:54 left in the game resulted in a breakaway lay-in and then Joshua Jefferson found Heise with a dime and the Cyclones reduced the deficit to below double digits (45-36) for the first time since midway through the first half.
The Cyclones weren't giving up. Momcilovic scored six-straight points to cap off a 13-0 run. Cryer finally ended the Cougar drought with his fifth 3-pointer, but the Cyclones came right back with five-straight points, including a trey from Heise, and the lead was down to one (48-47) with 8:10 left in the game.
Momcilovic hit another triple to close the gap to 54-52, but again Cryer came up with the answer with a big step-back basket to make it 56-52 with 5:10 left. Cryer continued to make buckets and his driving basket with 3:49 left resulted in a conventional 3-point play and a 64-57 Houston lead.
Key Performer
Joshua Jefferson had four points and four rebounds, but he made his mark in other areas. Jefferson posted seven steals and dished out a game-high eight assists. It was the fifth time this season he has recorded four or more steals in a game and his seven thefts fell one shy of the school record he tied earlier this season with eight against Colorado.
Up Next
Iowa State travels to Oklahoma State on Tuesday (Feb. 25). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
Team Stats
IowaSt
UH
FG%
.391
.532
3FG%
.400
.588
FT%
.882
.800
RB
22
29
TO
12
17
STL
10
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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