Iowa State men’s basketball returned to some version of normalcy on Tuesday against No. 17 West Virginia Mountaineers. But it wouldn’t result in a win for the Cyclones. 

Iowa State battled back and made the No. 17 Mountaineers sweat but in the end West Virginia walked out of Hilton Coliseum with a 76-72 victory.

The loss puts Iowa State at 2-10 overall and 0-7 in Big 12 play.

Two of Iowa State’s usual starters returned to the floor for their first action since being put into health and safety protocols in early January. Solomon Young and Tre Jackson did not start but returned to play for the first time since Iowa State’s loss against Texas Tech on Jan. 9.

And the return of familiar pieces led to a successful groove on offense for the Cyclones early on.

Jalen Coleman-Lands connected on three 3-pointers in the first five minutes of action, with the Cyclones as a team shooting 8-14 early on. At the 11:15 media timeout, Iowa State led 24-17.

But the Cyclones’ lead wouldn’t last long.

West Virginia would spend 8:08 of first-half clock on a 19-2 scoring run that snatched the lead from Iowa State.

Iowa State shot 0-9 from the field and committed five turnovers in the run from the Mountaineers before Rasir bolton ended the drought with a layup with 2:20 left in the first half. West Virginia walked into the break up 42-31.

West Virginia looked ready to pull away for a steady victory but Iowa State didn’t go away.

Iowa State would make six of its eight field goals over a four minute stretch and cut the Mountaineers’ lead to 69-65 with 4:39 left to play.

Iowa State cut the lead to just one with two minutes remaining and kept it a one score game for the rest of the way.

In the final seconds, Iowa State had the ball with 15.2 left, down 74-72. Coleman-Lands was called for an offensive foul, handing the ball back to West Virginia with 6.4 seconds left. 

West Virginia made its free throws and Iowa State couldn’t connect in its final offensive possession. 

Bolton continued to pace Iowa State in the scoring department. Bolton scored 15 points on 7-15 shooting. He added seven assists to his boxscore as well. His points was his fourth straight straight game with at least 15 points.

Young’s return brought back productive scoring in the paint the Cyclones were asking for. The redshirt senior finished his night with 15 points on 5-10 shooting.

Iowa State returns to action on Saturday in Norman, Oklahoma, to face the No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m.