Iowa State men’s basketball uses stirring late run to beat UCF, 60-52, on the road

Iowa State’s latest comeback started where it usually does.

With a stop.

The No. 8 Cyclones trailed Central Florida, 50-49, with 3:05 remaining Saturday in Orlando, but forced the Knights to miss a 3-pointer. Curtis Jones rebounded the ball, was fouled, and calmly sank two free throws.

That small spark — rooted in a simple stop — led to a decisive 11-0 run that propelled ISU (23-6, 12-4 Big 12) to a gritty 60-52 triumph at Addition Financial Arena.

“We did a good job of responding to that adversity and getting stops when we needed to, especially in the (final) minutes,” Cyclone senior forward Tre King said on the Cyclone Radio Network after the game.

King led ISU with 16 points on 7-of-11 field goal shooting. Milan Momcilovic added 11 points and matched foul trouble-plagued point guard Tamin Lipsey with four assists.

“I’m still gaining confidence,” Momcilovic said. “Getting better out there every single game. I think here toward the end of the season I’m still gonna get a lot better.”

The Cyclones forced 22 UCF turnovers, but coughed up 17 of their own. Both teams shot 33 percent from the field in a grinding second half, but ISU made the shots it needed to down the stretch to notch its 10th win in the last 12 games.

“A lot of teams at this time of year get a little too excited and end up dropping games,” King said. “That’s one thing we’ve really talked about, especially these past 2 1/2, three weeks, not being that team to let one slip away and losing one we're not supposed to, so credit to our guys for just staying focused and staying in the moment.”

The Cyclones return home to Hilton Coliseum to face BYU Wednesday at 7 p.m. It’s ISU’s senior night — and the last home game for program mainstays such as King, Robert Jones, and Hason Ward.

“I know it will be an unbelievable atmosphere,” Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger said.

Comments: robgray18@icloud.com