Joshua Jefferson scored a game-high 24 points to lead No. 4 Iowa State to a 66-62 comeback win over Iowa on Thursday night in Ames, Iowa.
Tamin Lipsey added 14 points and Milan Momcilovic contributed 10 points for the Cyclones (10-0).
Tavion Banks led Iowa (8-2) with 14 points and Cam Manyawu and Bennett Stirtz each scored 10 points.
Stirtz drilled a three with 1:38 left and the Hawkeyes trailed 62-61. On the next possession, a Nate Heise layup gave the Cyclones a 64-61 lead. Stirtz split a pair of free throws for the Hawkeyes and Iowa trailed 64-62.
Jefferson made a pair of free throws to extend the Cyclones’ lead to four with nine seconds to play. Stirtz missed a deep three in the closing seconds and the Cyclones held on to win against their in-state rivals.
With 16 straight points to open the second half, the Cyclones erased the Hawkeyes’ 33-25 halftime advantage. A reverse layup from Lipsey tied the game at 33-33. Moments later, Blake Buchanan’s steal led to Jefferson’s jumper and the Cyclones led for the first time since the game’s opening minutes
Overall, the Cyclones put together a 19-0 scoring spree that started with the last bucket of the first half and ended with a fadeaway jumper from Momcilovic for a 41-33 lead. Iowa finally cracked the second-half scoring column with a two-hand dunk off a baseline cut by Tate Sage at the 14:48 mark, which cut the Cyclones’ lead to 41-35.
After a Hawkeyes turnover, Momcilovic drained a three and Iowa State took a 47-37 lead with 11:59 to play.
An 8-0 run got the Hawkeyes back in the game as Manyawu’s offensive rebound and layup cut the Cyclones’ advantage to 47-45.
A back-and-forth first half gave way to a 10-0 Iowa run. The Hawkeyes took a 25-12 lead on Kael Combs’ putback.
But Iowa State closed the first half with an 8-3 rally that Jefferson capped with a 3-pointer 40 seconds before halftime.
