Iowa State Cyclones

Cyclone State: No. 3 Iowa State stuns Iowa with second half rally, 89-80

In first road trip of season, No. 3 Iowa State fights past in-state rival Iowa

Dana Becker

The Iowa State men hit the road to face Iowa Thursday night in Iowa City.
The Iowa State men hit the road to face Iowa Thursday night in Iowa City. / Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What a second half performance by No. 3 Iowa State, as the Cyclones rally past in-state rival Iowa Thursday night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, 89-80.

Down by seven at the break, and after trailing for much of the night, Iowa State (8-1) used a huge run in the final 10 minutes to race past the Hawkeyes (7-3). 

Iowa State’s run started at the 10:02 mark of the second half when Keshon Gilbert buried a 3-pointer. That sent the Cyclones on a 26-10 run that gave them their first lead of the game. 

Joshua Jefferson flirted with a triple-double, settling for a double-double by scoring 19 points with 10 rebounds. He was 10 of 12 from the free throw line, adding seven assists to lead Iowa State. 

Curtis Jones sparked the Cyclones off the bench with a game-high 23, knocking down five 3-pointers while adding six rebounds. Dishon Jackson had 12 and Tamin Lipsey came alive in the final 20 minutes, scoring 11 with six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

For Iowa, Owen Freeman scored 16, Josh Dix had 14, Payton Sandfort added 13 and both Brock Harding and Drew Thelwell each scored 10. Harding had eight assists and Thelwell six rebounds with four assists and two steals.

The Hawkeyes had a 13-point lead at one time, hitting 11 three-pointers while shooting 44 percent from the field. All those numbers, though, were matched by the Cyclones thanks to their impressive second half. 

Iowa State also hit 11 triples and shot 44 percent from the field, holding a plus-12 advantage in total rebounds including an 18-8 edge on the offensive glass. The Cyclones were also plus-10 on points in the paint and plus-5 in points off turnovers.

Check out our in-game recap and analysis with highlights below:

Second Half Live Updates

Final: Iowa State 89, Iowa 80

Not really sure how they did it, but the third-ranked Cyclones delivered late in the clutch, getting past a pesty Iowa team. Joshua Jefferson was clutch down the stretch, hitting 5 of 6 free throws in the final 42 seconds to seal the win. 

Iowa State 81, Iowa 76, :57 seconds left in second half: The Cyclones have outscored the Hawkeyes in the second half, 44-32, to gain control of this one. Big buckets by Curtis Jones in the last minute-plus have pushed Iowa State to the lead.

Nate Heise gives ISU the lead! Transfer Nate Heise with a layup at the 3:05 mark to give Iowa State its first lead of the night, 76-74. Curtis Jones followed with a bucket and a 3-pointer from Jones following two Iowa free throws has the Cyclones ahead 81-76 with 95 seconds to go.

All tied up! Tamin Lipsey makes the biggest shot of the game, knocking down a 3-pointer with 5:12 to go to make it 72-72. The Cyclones have outscored the Hawkeyes in the second half, 35-28. Lipsey is up to 11 points with five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Cyclones heating up! Iowa State is finally looking locked in, as Keshon Gilbert and Nate Heise made back-to-back 3-pointers and a layup by Keshon Gilbert makes it a 66-64 Iowa lead with under nine to play.

Iowa 62, Iowa State 56, 11:31 left in second half: Curtis Jones with a much-needed triple for the Cyclones, cutting the deficit down to six at the under-12 timeout. Iowa still shooting lights-out from deep, as Josh Dix, Payton Sandfort and Ladji Dembele have all sank triples. 

Halftime Stats

Iowa has been on fire from deep, going 7-for-12 from the 3-point line while shooting 61 percent from the field as a team. All five starters have at least four points while the bench has scored 12. Owen Freeman leads the way with 10 as reserve Ladji Dembele has come on to score eight with four rebounds. Payton Sandford has seven and Drew Thelwell six. 

The Hawkeyes have 12 assists on 17 made field goals, with Brock Harding recording six assists. 

For Iowa State, Joshua Jefferson is keeping them in the game, scoring 12 points with five rebounds to lead the way. Curtis Jones has eight off the bench while Dishon Jackson has six. Tamin Lipsey has yet to score and the Cyclones are just 3-for-13 from deep while missing four free throws and shooting 44 percent from the floor.

First Half Live Updates

End of first half: Iowa 44, Iowa State 37

Iowa State was able to cut the deficit down to five as Jefferson knocked down a 3-pointer with 2:43 to go in the half before Josh Dix went on a 5-0 run by himself. A Keshon Gilbert layup halted the run by Dix.

Iowa 38, Iowa State 26, 4:21 left in first: This one is all Iowa so far, as the Hawkeyes have opened up a 13-point lead. The Hawkeyes are a red-hot 6 of 10 from the 3-point line compared to just 1-for-10 by the Cyclones. They are also sharing the ball, recording 11 assists on 15 made field goals. 

Iowa 28, Iowa State 21, 8:15 left in first half: The Cyclones have made a little bit of a run, cutting the deficit down to seven as we approach the under-eight timeout. Joshua Jefferson with a big bucket, giving him six points to go along with five rebounds early. 

Iowa 25, Iowa State 17, 11:31 left in first half: The Hawkeyes have caught fire in the early stages of this one, racing out to an eight-point advantage. They are 5 of 6 from the 3-point line as Freeman has seven and Drew Thelwell six. 

Iowa 13, Iowa State 9, 15:43 left in first half: Owen Freeman knocks down a big 3-pointer to give the Hawkeyes an early 13-9 at the under-16 timeout. Iowa has already knocked down three triples in the half.

Pregame Updates

Last year, Iowa State is raced out to a 47-29 lead and never looked back, winning in Ames, 90-65. Overall, though, Iowa has won four of the last six meetings, including three straight from 2018-20.

Published |Modified
Dana Becker
DANA BECKER

Dana Becker has been a sports writer in Iowa since 2000, writing for The Fort Dodge Messenger, Mason City Globe-Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others. Dana resides in north-central Iowa.

Home/Basketball