Thrilling rally lifts Iowa State men’s basketball to victory over West Virginia

AMES — The plan was to trap and, if necessary, foul.

But with 22.6 seconds left and Iowa State trailing West Virginia, 81-80, Cyclones star Izaiah Brockington did what he does best: Take over the game.

The 6-4 senior graduate transfer stole the inbounds pass and sank a short jumper as ISU came back from a 12-point second-half deficit to win, 84-81, Wednesday before 12,810 fans at Hilton Coliseum.

“Other guys were denied,” said Brockington, who scored a career-high 35 points to fuel the Cyclones’ third straight win. “My guy just saw that everybody was denied and he tried to come up, and I just reached in and stole it.”

Brockington spoke matter of factly, but his dominant performance essentially rescued ISU (19-9, 6-9 Big 12) from a seventh straight loss to the reeling Mountaineers (14-14, 3-12).

The dynamic 6-4 guard scored 27 points in the second half alone, including one stretch when he knocked down 16 of 18 points for the Cyclones, who climbed into a three-way tie for sixth place in the conference standings.

“Man, just let him cook,” fellow ISU grad transfer Gabe Kalscheur said when asked about Brockington’s heroics. “Just let him go to work.”

Kalscheur complemented Brockington’s effort perfectly. He scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half — including three clutch 3-pointers and the two free throws that gave the Cyclones their three-point winning margin.

“Yeah, I feel like I kept us in it, but Gabe’s shots were huge,” said Brockington, who also made a career-high 13 field goals and five 3-pointers. “Like, they are daggers. They were the back and forth. Yeah, I kept us in it, but he had two straight 3s and then to have the two huge free throws at the end? Cold. Cold-blooded.”

ISU is now just a half-game out of fifth place in the league standings and will play fellow sixth-place teams Kansas State (on the road) and Oklahoma State (at home) the next two games.

“It was a really big win for us,” Kalscheur said. “Especially (given) how we were playing in the first half and the end of the first half. To come out and stick it to them, and continue to stick it to them in a back-and-forth battle, in a game that comes to the last shot and a couple free throws, I think a game like that really builds our character.”

As for that first half, West Virginia controlled most of it, especially on the interior.

The Mountaineers secured as many offensive rebounds (nine) as ISU totaled on both ends in before the break and carried a 41-31 lead into halftime.

West Virginia extended its advantage to 54-42 on Taz Sherman’s basket with 14:19 left, but ISU’s senior grad transfers immediately responded, igniting the rally.

Kalscheur drained his first of three second-half 3-pointers to make the score 54-45 and, after a stop, Brockington drilled a long-range basket to cut the Cyclones’ deficit to six points.

Six straight points from Brockington moments later pulled ISU within two and the teams traded baskets until Brockington’s steal — and Kalscheur’s free throws — cemented the comeback triumph.

“The gratitude I’m feeling to these two guys sitting on each side of me couldn’t be more,” Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “They came to this program and wanted that type of opportunity. To play in front of an amazing fan base, to lead a team, to show how important character and daily habits is in everything that they do.”

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