Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on January 7, 2026 , Win , 70, to, 60
Final
Men's Basketball
70
Baylor
60
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Iowa State University Athletics
Tuesday, January 20
Ames, Iowa
6:00 PM
Iowa State
17-2,4-2Big 12
87
vs
57
UCF
14-4,3-3Big 12
1
2
F
UCF
26
31
57
Iowa St.
44
43
87
Photo by: Jeff Spaur
Jefferson, Defense Leads ISU To 87-57 Win Vs. UCF
01.20.2026 | Men's Basketball
AMES, Iowa – No. 9 Iowa State (17-2, 4-2 Big 12) got back to its old defensive ways and Joshua Jefferson posted his second triple-double of the year in an 87-57 victory over UCF (14-4, 3-3 Big 12) Tuesday night in Hilton Coliseum.
ISU made it tough to score, forcing 19 turnovers, tallying 13 steals and holding the Knights to 37.0 percent shooting, including a 32.3 percent clip in the second half, to remain undefeated at home (11-0).
Its defensive effort was on display in the final 5:45 minutes of the first half when it held UCF scoreless and forced four turnovers to break open a close game behind a 13-0 run.
Jefferson was phenomenal with his Cyclone-best second triple-double of the season, recording 17 points, 12 assists and 10 boards. His 12 assists were a career high and he joined B.J. Edwards of SMU as the only two players with two or more triple-doubles this season.
Milan Momcilovic led all players with 20 points, draining 4-of-8 shots from downtown to give him 75 on the season. Blake Buchanan added 11 points and six boards, and Tamin Lipsey had five points, but tallied five thefts, his ninth 5+-steal game as a Cyclone. He also had five boards and six dimes.
ISU is now 44-2 at Hilton Coliseum in the last three seasons.
How it Happened
Iowa State jumped out to an early 23-9 lead. Jefferson had six points and four assists in the first eight minutes of the contest.
UCF mounted a 10-2 run to cut the Cyclone lead to 31-26 with 5:45 remaining in the first half. Themus Fulks and Riley Kugel each scored five points in the run to close the gap on a once 13-point Cyclone lead.
However, the Knights didn't score the rest of the half as the Cyclones closed the opening stanza with a 13-0 run to take a 44-26 lead at the break. Jamarion Batemon had eight points and Tamin Lipsey hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to push the Cyclone lead to 18 points.
A Momcilovic 3-pointer gave the Cyclones a 55-35 lead with 14:04 left in the game.
Twice the Knights closed the gap to 15 points, but the second time the Cyclones answered with an 8-0 flurry thanks to another Momcilovic 3-pointer to give the Cyclones a comfortable 66-43 lead with 7:58 left in the game.
Key Performer
Jamarion Batemon's eight points in the final 5:45 minutes of the first were the bulk of ISU's 13-0 run to close the half to give the Cyclones a 44-26 lead at the break. He scored on a conventional 3-point play and hit a deep second-chance trey during the run. Batemon finished the game with 12 points, his fourth double-digit scoring game of the season, in just 16 minutes of action.
Notes
- T.J. Otzelberger earned his 71st win at Hilton Coliseum, tied with Larry Eustachy for third in school history.
- ISU's 90th win in the last four years is tied for the fifth-best four-year stretch in program history.
- Joshua Jefferson started his 80th career game.
- He eclipsed 275 career assists.
- He is now over 200 assists as a Cyclone.
- Milan Momcilovic now owns the 16th-most single-season triples in ISU history (75).
- He has made the fourth-most 3-pointers in school history (199), as he passed Scott Christopherson on the evening.
- Tamin Lipsey is now 22nd in ISU scoring annals (1,260).
- He surpassed 275 career steals.
Up Next
Iowa State travels to Oklahoma State on Saturday (Jan. 24). Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. on Peacock.
Team Stats
UCF
IowaSt
FG%
.368
.508
3FG%
.313
.360
FT%
.833
.571
RB
32
38
TO
19
5
STL
1
13
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballF
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