No. 4 Iowa State holds off Iowa, 66-62, in tense Cy-Hawk matchup

AMES — Iowa State star forward Joshua Jefferson strode to midcourt, looked to the crowd and raised his arms methodically and emphatically, again and again, with purpose and pride.

Each powerful swoop upward coaxed more raucous noise from Hilton Coliseum’s 14,267 denizens, who roared their approval as the No. 4 Cyclones iced a tense 66-62 win over hard-nosed and upset-minded Iowa in Thursday’s Cy-Hawk game.

“I just wanted to savor this last game against Iowa,” Jefferson said. “There’s nothing like Hilton. I just wanted to play hard for them.”

The 6-9 former St. Mary’s transfer — typically stoic and stone-faced — basked in the atmosphere after his game-high 24-point performance helped ISU (10-0) notch its third straight win over the Hawkeyes (8-2). Jefferson’s two free throws with 9.1 seconds left essentially sealed the triumph, which set the stage for his gesture-filled entreaty for more cheers as the final seconds ticked away.

It’s a side of Jefferson that’s not frequently glimpsed, but count Ames native and senior standout guard Tamin Lipsey among those who’d like to see more of it.

“I love to see that,” said Lipsey, who added 14 points, four assists and four steals for the Cyclones. “Especially at the end, getting the fans involved. They love that. That’s why they come to the game, to be a part of the game. They definitely helped us win, (and) helped us stretch the lead after halftime.”

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ISU trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half and 33-25 at halftime. Freshman guard Killyan Toure then scored three quick points. Jefferson followed, completing a traditional 3-point play. Then Lipsey hit a layup just 2:06 into the second half and the game was tied. The Cyclones would add eight more points to a 16-0 second-half opening run, but couldn’t put Iowa away until the final seconds.

“(That) ends up being the difference in the game for us,” ISU head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “We’ve been in spots before at halftime where the game was tight, (but) not where we were down like that. We talked about it at half. That was more adversity than we have had at halftime in any game this year. They had the game going their way from a style standpoint, how they wanted it.”

The Cyclones stretched their lead to 10, at 47-37, with 11:59 left, but the Hawkeyes responded with an 8-0 run and the game remained tight thereafter.

“You kind of knew at some point there was gonna by a run, a violent run like that, and, you know, it’s just hang on,” Hawkeyes head coach Ben McCollum said. “And try to fight back and try to string a couple of your own stops together, and I thought our guys did a great job of that. You’ve just gotta be more ready coming out of half.”

Tavion Banks led Iowa with 14 points and Bennett Stirtz scored 10 — about nine points off his season average. Stirtz did swish a deep 3-pointer to cut a four-point ISU lead to one with 1:04 left, but Iowa never regained the lead. He finished 6-for-15 from the field with four assists and three turnovers.

“Obviously, he’s a great player, so the whole team was out there, connected, trying to stop him,” Lipsey said.

Milan Momcilovic added 10 points for the Cyclones, Toure finished with seven points, and big man Blake Buchanan chipped in six — along with six rebounds, a career-high-tying four blocked shots and countless hustle plays.

“In terms of impacting winning, Blake Buchanan had as much impact as anybody (who) entered the game — and potentially more,” Otzelberger said.

Jefferson did the same and will finish 2-0 against Iowa as a Cyclone. Lipsey will finish 3-1 against the Hawkeyes, and savored the final moments just as Jefferson did.

“It feels good to be 3-1 against the Hawkeyes, but at the end of the game, the emotions kind of set in,” Lipsey said. “It was an up and down game.”

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