AMES — Down 14 points with 15:56 left to play, the Cyclones’ perfect record at home was on the ropes as they could not get their offense going or stop the hot shooting from BYU.

The Cougars muted the crowd at Hilton Coliseum on senior night with their hot start to the night where it seemed like they could not miss. They were hitting their shots from every level, and the Cyclones were falling behind with hopes of a comeback dwindling.

But to be a top team in the Big 12, you have to focus on what is in front of you, and that is exactly what Iowa State did.

“The first half wasn’t great for us, but we always bounce back,” Tamin Lipsey said.

The Cyclones started to string shots together to trim the lead, but the Cougars continued to answer. Then, Iowa State turned to its defense, which forced BYU into multiple droughts.

The hot hands BYU started the game with had started to cool off as the Cougars were missing open shots outside. Iowa State had adjusted to the Cougars’ high-paced offense, slowing down passes around the arc and in transition.

“Our main focus was coming together,” Lipsey said. “Talking a lot more, being more physical on the perimeter and causing more turnovers.”

From there, things started to click for Iowa State offensively as the team had put the Cougars on ice.
An 11-0 Cyclone run, aided by their tight defense on the other side, gave them their first lead since early in the first half.

“The offense sort of takes care of itself when you lockdown on defense, you don’t really think much on the offensive side,” Lipsey said.

Iowa State’s comeback was not complete as there were still over seven minutes left to play and BYU was still hunting shots. The Cyclones were outscored 6-4 over the next three minutes, looking like they had regressed back to their form in the first half.

For the final four minutes, Iowa State returned to its defense to stay in the game, forcing the Cougars into one of their worst scoring droughts of the night. BYU went scoreless for the rest of the game, including three turnovers and 0-for-6 from the field.

“We were able to be more disruptive,” head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “We hope that we are able to, down the stretch in games, get stops because teams are more fatigued.”

Although the Cyclones were missing a fair amount of shots themselves, they held onto the one-point lead they had grabbed at the 2:51 mark.

But Iowa State knew it would come out on top as long as it did not let up defensively.

“We would huddle and just talk about getting stops because if the score stayed like that we would win the game,” Lipsey said.

The Cyclones finished the game on a 7-0 run to cap off an improbable comeback based on how they played in the opening 25 minutes. Trusting themselves and returning back to what has made them a top 10 team in the nation prevailed against BYU, as they survived another late regular season scare.

“Our unity, our togetherness and the investment our guys make in each other I think it shows up for key moments in the game,” Otzelberger said. “I believe that is what happened here tonight.”