AMES — The Cyclones stay perfect at home on Saturday with their 82-74 win against Texas Tech, which saw contributions from each player who touched the court.

Even with the late push by Texas Tech to make things interesting, Iowa State stayed the course as they had seen themselves in this position before. The Cyclones counted on multiple offensive threats to climb out to their early lead, which they were not going to let go to waste.

Iowa State improved to 20-5 on the year and remains in contention for the conference regular season title as they now sit at 9-3 in the Big 12.

Fakes, crafty handles ignite Cyclones’ offense

To get its offense going, Iowa State stuck to its strengths and attacked the paint, but the reason they found themselves inside was unlike any other this season. Texas Tech bit hard on pump fakes and crossovers by the Cyclones, which created lanes for them to drive through.

Thanks to the handles and pump fakes of Keshon Gilbert, which the Red Raiders constantly bit at, Iowa State moved the ball inside to get their offense rolling.

“I think that’s part of my game in general,” Gilbert said. “When they jump on the pump fake that allows me to get in the paint and share the ball with my teammates.”

The crafty work by Gilbert and other Cyclones put Iowa State in the driver’s seat by the midpoint of the first half.

A 12-2 run by the Cyclones jumped them out to a 14-point lead over halfway through the opening half. Iowa State’s surge was highlighted by 10 straight points in the span of two minutes.

During Iowa State’s commanding jolt of offense, the Red Raiders had four turnovers as the Cyclones stayed tight defensively. Texas Tech finished the first half with 10 turnovers, which Iowa State scored 20 points off of.

Whether they were working their way into the paint or taking mid-range jumpers, the Cyclones were finding success offensively in the first half. Iowa State finished the first half with a 14-point lead over Texas Tech, highlighted by 24 points scored in the paint.

Gilbert highlights scoring carousel

Iowa State saw every play that touched the court score, with five finishing in double figures. Starters Robert Jones, Tamin Lipsey, and Milan Momcilovic each finished with 10 points with Curtis Jones adding 12 off the bench.

The Cyclones played unselfish throughout the game, with each player looking for an open teammate. They finished the game with 13 assists, nine of which came from the duo of Gilbert and Lipsey.

“There is not an ego out there that is trying to make a shot or play for themselves, it is everything for their team,” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said.

Although Gilbert’s handles were responsible for getting the Cyclones’ offense going, it took him until the second half to execute on his shots. He finished the first half with six points, connecting on two of his seven attempts from the field.

Gilbert put that first-half performance behind him in the final 20 minutes.

The junior guard connected on a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers early in the second half to set the tone for what was to come. To the tune of 18 points in the second half on 6-for-9 shooting from the field, Gilbert finished as the game’s leading scorer with 24 points.

Cyclones survive another late scare

Multiple times throughout the season, Iowa State has blown its double-digit leads when the opposing team throws their final punches. Another near collapse by the Cyclones happened again on Saturday.

With minutes left in the game, Texas Tech had erased Iowa State’s once 20-point lead down to eight. While there was a small chance that the Red Raiders could pull off the upset late, it is still alarming that the Cyclones found themselves in this position yet again.

“We need to stay focused on getting the stops late in the game,” Otzelberger said. “You gotta make sure your focus is for the full 40 minutes because everybody is going to keep coming at you.”

Texas Tech outscored Iowa State 25-17 in the final seven minutes, and while the Cyclones are safe for now, they know that a slide like this could cost them in the future.

Robert Jones elaborated on what has caused them to have to play smarter at the end, and not let a team win late when their foot is off the gas.

“Getting comfortable, then that other team just feeling that desperation of coming back in the game,” Robert Jones said. “We gotta do a better job at responding to that.”

The Cyclones responded to the Red Raiders’ final push with inbounds and passes along the perimeter that were out of harm’s way.