Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Creighton (Exhibition) on October 17, 2025 at 7:30 PM
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Men's Basketball
Creighton (Exhibition)
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Iowa State University Athletics
Tuesday, March 4
Ames, Iowa
8:00 PM
Iowa State University
22-8,12-7Big 12
85
vs
88
BYU
22-8,13-6Big 12
1
2
OT 1
OT 2
F
BYU
33
35
11
9
88
Iowa St.
24
44
11
6
85
Photo by: LUKE LU @KL6PHOTO
Furious 21-Point Cyclone Rally Falls Short in Double Overtime
03.04.2025 | Men's Basketball
AMES, Iowa – No. 10 Iowa State (22-8, 12-7 Big 12) dropped a heartbreaker Tuesday evening, seeing its 21-point second-half rally fall short against No. 23 BYU (22-8, 13-6 Big 12) in double overtime. The Cyclones, who were celebrating Senior Night in the home finale, fell to the Cougars, 88-85.
Tuesday night's game featured the first overtime game in the confines of Hilton Coliseum since 2022, and the first double overtime game in the building since 2010. The loss for Iowa State marks just its second of the season with a fully healthy roster.
The game started slow for both teams, as no one was able to take the lid off the basket. The two teams started 0-10 and were scoreless for the first four minutes of action. BYU was held scoreless until the 13:30 mark of the first half.
Five Cyclones finished in double figures on the night, with Joshua Jefferson leading the way with 19 points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Milan Momcilovic poured in 18 points with four made triples, while Curtis Jones chipped in 16. Tamin Lipsey finished with 15 points, along with a game-high eight assists and three steals. Keshon Gilbert rounded out the double-figure scorers with 13 points and also recorded eight steals – tying the school's single-game record.
For the Cougars, junior Richie Saunders led all scorers with 23 points, going a perfect 13-13 from the charity stripe. Fellow BYU guard Dallin Hall was right behind him with 22 points, knocking down a quartet of triples. Big man Keba Keita was a force in the paint this evening, finishing with a game-high 15 rebounds and three blocks.
Iowa State forced 29 Cougar turnovers, which helped power the 21-point comeback. BYU was able to keep the Cyclones away with timely rebounds, though, handling ISU on the glass with a staggering rebound margin of 52-24.
How it Happened
It took awhile for each side to get settled early on, as both teams struggled to see the ball go in the hoop. ISU started 0-7, while BYU started 0-3 with five turnovers. Eventually, the Cyclones broke the seal at the 15:18 mark with a Jones jumper in the lane.
The Cyclones would grab an early 5-0 lead before the Cougars would notch their first basket, a Hall 3-pointer, at the 13:35 mark. ISU would build up its largest lead of the game in the first half, a nine-point advantage, with 10:03 remaining as it led 14-5.
ISU would go on to get outscored 28-10 in the final ten minutes of the first stanza, as the Cougars raced back with a vengeance. After settling down and not turning the ball over so frequently, BYU hit open threes and converted its touches in the paint to take a 33-24 lead into the break.
Iowa State saw its nine-point halftime deficit more than double in the second half, as BYU continued to pour it on with its first half momentum taking a 54-33 lead at the 13:16 mark.
From that point, Iowa State slowly began to chip away. First it was cutting the lead to 13 at the 10:49 mark. Then it was eventually getting the deficit to single digits, eight, at the 8:19 mark. After trimming the lead to as low as six, a quick 5-0 spurt from the Cougars pushed the advantage back to 11, leading 61-50, with 6:13 remaining.
The Cyclones ratcheted things up on defense, continuing to apply pressure as the intensity helped fuel the offense which would go on an 8-0 run to cut the lead down to three.
Iowa State would get the lead down to one with 1:20 remaining, but a BYU tip-in offensive board reestablished a three-point lead with under a minute to go. Milan Momcilovic canned a monster triple for the Cyclones to tie the game up with 44 seconds left, giving ISU new life for the first time since midway through the first half.
The two teams would trade clutch free throws at the end of regulation, with Saunders burying a pair to put the Cougars up two with 17 seconds left before Jefferson answered with two big freebies of his own with nine seconds left. Saunders would get the ensuing inbound and miss a fadeaway jumper as the game went to OT with the teams tied at 68.
BYU raced out to a quick 4-0 lead in the extra stanza, but a triple from Momcilovic and a fastbreak Lipsey lay-in would give ISU the edge back at 72-71. The two sides would trade baskets throughout the remainder of the overtime, with ISU having a chance to win down the stretch. With the score tied at 79 points with 16 seconds remaining, a Cyclone turnover thwarted a drawn up play, and the teams would head for a second extra period.
Both teams had left it all on the court, as each side was exhausting whatever they had left in the second overtime. The Cougars held a four-point edge with two minutes to go, but a Jefferson layup with 1:51 left trimmed it to two. The two teams would combine to miss the next three field goals, and eventually ISU got the ball with 24 seconds left, down two, with a chance to win.
BYU's defense held the Cyclones to a poor shot, as Momcilovic's jumper went wide and forced a shot clock violation. The Cougars would knock down one free throw to extend its lead to three as it went on to win 88-85 and secure the four seed in the Big 12 conference tournament.
Key Performer
Tamin Lipsey did it all for the Cyclones this evening. The junior, who already leads the school in career steals, went over 1,00 career points to become just the 35th Cyclone to ever do so. Lipsey was also an efficient point guard, recording zero turnovers with his eight assists.
Notes
- Curtis Jones buried a pair of triples this evening, moving into a tie for 18th-most 3-pointers in a single season in ISU history (71).
- Joshua Jefferson moves into a tie for the 17th most steals in a single season on program history (62).
- Tamin Lipsey became the 35th player in school history to eclipse 1,000 career points in a Cyclone uniform, pouring in 15.
- Lipsey swiped three balls this evening, moving into a tie for 13th-most steals in school history (63).
- Lipsey started his 99th career game, tied with Assistant Coach Diante Garrett (2008-11) for the 14th-most in program history.
- Milan Momcilovic moved into a tie with Gabe Kalscheur for the 19th-most 3-pointers in a Cyclone career (113).
- Keshon Gilbert had eight steals tonight, tying the school record. Teammates Tamin Lipsey and Joshua Jefferson also have a school-best eight steals.
- He moved into a tie for 18th-most steals in a career.
- Iowa State forced 29 turnovers this evening, with 18 resulting in Cyclone steals.
- BYU's 29 turnovers were tied for the sixth-most ever in school history.
- ISU's 18 steals pushed the season total to 286 … the ninth-most in a single season in school annals.
Up Next
Iowa State will wrap up the regular season this Saturday, March 8, at Kansas State. Saturday's game will be broadcast on CBS and is set to tip off at 12:30 p.m.
Team Stats
BYU
IowaSt
FG%
.441
.391
3FG%
.344
.286
FT%
.806
.871
RB
52
24
TO
29
11
STL
8
18
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
11
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballG
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