AMES — With 9:05 left in the game, the No. 6 Cyclones had fallen apart on both ends and allowed West Virginia to not only take a one-point lead, but all the life out of their home crowd.
Iowa State’s 10-point lead it had built up going into halftime was erased by a 21-10 run by the Mountaineers through the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Cyclones were now on upset alert with their most efficient scorer, Keshon Gilbert, sitting on the bench with four fouls.
The Mountaineers did not hold the lead for long, as due to increased efforts on both ends of the court, Iowa State went on a 14-0 run over the next six minutes. During those six minutes as the Cyclones sunk back into their comfortable lead, West Virginia turned the ball over eight times.
Iowa State returned to its highly valued aggressive style of play and was not going to let the Mountaineers be the ones to snap its undefeated record at home this season.
“It felt like in the first half we were a step slow and early in the second half we were a step slow,” head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “It felt like during that stretch we had a very intentional defensive intent and we turned that into offense.”
Part of the Cyclones’ increased efforts on defense came from contesting shots and not letting West Virginia find open shooters. Outside of forcing turnovers, Iowa State held the Mountaineers to nine attempts from the floor in the final nine minutes of the game.
“We didn’t come out as intense as we wanted to on the defensive side,” Tamin Lipsey said. “We kept them at 51 points there for a long stretch there and that’s how we’re able to pull away and make that run.”
With Gilbert on the bench, the Cyclones looked to their bench for someone to step up and help them regain control of the game, and they got that from sophomore guard Jackson Paveletzke.
Paveletzke entered Saturday’s game averaging 12 minutes per game, with small spurts in Big 12 games as a role player. Against West Virginia, he saw 16 minutes of action and was a key factor in the Cyclones building a double-digit lead back.
“[Paveletzke] was outstanding,” Otzelberger said. “His energy was terrific [offensively] and defensively he pressured the ball really well.”
Paveletzke stuck with every assignment he was given defensively and followed the Cyclones’ agenda of pushing the ball inside.
Paveletzke finished the game with nine points, four of which came in the second half, filling in nicely for Gilbert at a time when the tide could have shifted heavily in favor of the Mountaineers.
For Paveletzke, he knows moments like this will come for him down the stretch, and what is most important for him is to stay ready for when his name is called.
“It was just about staying ready mentally,” Paveletzke said. “Just being ready and watching the guys that are out there when they are playing, kinda seeing what’s working.”
“[Paveletzke] continues to stay ready and today with a few bumps and bruises and [Gilberts] foul trouble we really needed to count on him and he stepped up in a major way,” Otzelberger said.
Iowa State finished the game on a 21-13 run after West Virginia had taken its first lead of the closing half.
Although this type of win is not welcomed, the Cyclones see this as a reminder that they are always in games, it just depends on what fight they have left in them. With the regular season coming to an end, seeding for the Big 12 Tournament and the big dance on the line, Iowa State knows every game is important.
“Just continuing to fight through this whole game was good to see from our guys,” Lipsey said. “We can’t let any go, we got to go win every game.”
