KANSAS CITY – Throughout its nine-game winning streak, BYU has found a variety of ways to win.
On Thursday, the battle-tested and red-hot Cougars withstood a Curtis Jones barrage, plus a tenacious effort by a short-handed Iowa State basketball team that didn’t play like it was down two starters.
The fourth-seeded Cougars stepped up in crunch time, snatched the lead and made all the key plays to hang on for a 96-92 win in Thursday’s Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals.
“It’s a little discouraging because it seemed like they were just getting it every possession,” said Iowa State guard Curtis Jones when the Cyclones scored on a majority of possessions, but BYU never seemed to cool down from 3-point range. “They were getting a shot and knocking it down. Usually, teams don’t sure 50% from three, even 40% from three, but 50-plus percent? Just got to tip your cap to them, I know they shoot the ball well, but that was impressive.”
BYU went on an 11-0 run midway through the second half, which allowed the Cougars to tie the score and pull ahead. After an exchange of baskets, BYU took the lead for good after a Keba Keita basket with 6:02 remaining. It remained close throughout, but BYU’s zone defense was tough for Iowa State to crack and Richie Saunders made numerous clutch plays to help the Cougars hang on.
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Saunders hit a crucial 3-pointer with 49.1 seconds remaining to give BYU a 92-88 lead. The extra cushioning made it tough for Iowa State to crawl back in the final moments of the game.
“Their guards are physical, they do a great job of defending without fouling,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said of BYU’s second-half defense. “I think that was important for them. We didn’t get to the foul line often. The energy Keita plays with on the interior is tremendous, and they have great depth. They’re able to play 10 guys and keep fresh bodies out there, so that all played into it, but they had a great focus in that second half. They ramped up their defense and got stops when they needed to.”
Jones had 22 of his game-high 31 points in the first half. He shot 11-of-22 overall and 7-for-15 from deep.
“They had guys down and they had guys step up,” BYU coach Kevin Young said of the Cyclones. “The show that Curtis Jones put on in the first half was remarkable. Felt like no matter what we did, he was going to make a shot. Our guys did a good job of weathering the storm and did enough on both sides of the ball to give ourselves the lead. Trey came in and gave us good defense; Richie has made some huge plays for us all year. Made some huge plays, some huge free throws down the stretch which is something that we rely on.
The last thing, big picture, I mean, to go 24 assists on 30 made shots is an incredible number, so I think that speaks to how unselfish our guys are and they play for each other, and I thought that was on full display.”
Milan Momcilovic finished with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Joshua Jefferson had 14 points, three rebounds, six assists, two steals and five turnovers. Dishon Jackson also had 14 points and two blocks.
Keshon Gilbert was ruled out with a strained groin before Thursday’s game tipped off. Tamin Lipsey was said to be available, but he ended up not playing. Lipsey suffered a groin injury in the closing minutes of Iowa State’s Big 12 Tournament second-round win over Cincinnati.
“I didn’t really know how it would feel after yesterday and waking up this morning, I wanted to get on the court, warm up and kind of test it out,” said Lipsey, adding that the decision to sit out was made during pre-game warmups. “I just felt like if I went out and played, it would only be 60%. I don’t think that would do much good for our team.”
BYU started the game blistering hot. Its efficient and unselfish offense was on display, with the ball constantly on the move. Cougars passed up good looks to get even greater ones, and they built an early 25-15 lead with 12:02 remaining in the first half.
Dawson Baker capped the hot start with a 3-pointer. During the opening eight minutes of the game, the Cougars shot 9-of-13, with five different players cashing in from the 3-point line.
Iowa State battled and started to string together some stops and went on a 9-0 run to make it a one-possession game.
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Both teams traded baskets until Jones started to heat up and pulled the Cyclones in front. Jones scored 14 points in a 20-6 Iowa State run that gave the Cyclones their first lead of the game, which they briefly pushed into double figures after Momcilovic topped the surge off with a 3-pointer to make it 49-39 with 3:08 left.
The Cougars regained some traction to end the half, but a clutch block by Demarion Watson allowed the Cyclones to hang on to a 53-49 halftime lead.
Saunders led BYU with 23 points. Fousseyni Traore added 15 points off the bench. Trevin Knell had 14 points and shot 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. Mihailo Boskovic added 10 points and five rebounds. Keita had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Iowa State is now 24-9 overall. The Cyclones will await their fate on Selection Sunday to see where they will end up in the NCAA Tournament.
“We’ve had ups and downs this season, we’ve had some great moments and we’ve had ones that could have been better,” Otzelberger said. “When you have those experiences, it brings you closer together, and I feel like our group right now, there’s a camaraderie, there’s a bond, there’s a connection and they want to play for one another. This time of year, special things can happen when you maintain that commitment and focus to doing what you need to do. We want to get our guys healthy, but I’m also excited to get back to the practice court because I’m confident that our best is still in front of us and I’m eager to get back to work to bring out our best.”
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
