AMES – No. 10 Iowa State handled business against Cincinnati in an 81-70 victory at Hilton Coliseum Saturday. Through a slew of turnovers, fouls and many second chances, the Cyclones found a way past for their third win in a row.
Senior guard Curtis Jones led the way once again with 22 points. It was the 10th time this season that Jones scored 20 or more points.
Jones leads season-high free throw percentage
Free throws have been an area that Iowa State has tried to better itself at all season. Against Cincinnati, the 25th game of the season, the Cyclones had a season-high free throw percentage at 86.6% (26-for-30).
The brunt of the work came from Jones, who was a perfect 12-for-12 from the charity stripe. More than half of his points in the game came from the line.
“It’s a component of winning,” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “If you’re a winner and you’re a competitor, you continue to want to be great in that area. Proud of our guys for the way they did that.”
Jones’ scoring per half was similar with 12 points in the first and 10 in the second. But the way he scored was completely different in each half.
Jones was 4-for-13 from the field in the first half, 2-of-8 from 3-point range, and sank both of his free throws. In the second half, Jones did not make a single field goal but made all 10 of his free throws.
Most of the free throws he took were after he got hacked on a drive to the basket, though four came after technical fouls. Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller and center Aziz Bandaogo were the two Bearcats that were whistled which led to points for the Cyclones.
“It’s big time when you can get free points and the ball back,” Jones said. “That goes a long way, especially in a close game.”
In all, five technical fouls were assessed in the game. Iowa State senior guard Keshon Gilbert was called for one, and senior center Dishon Jackson was part of a double-technical with Cincinnati’s Bandaogo.
Turnovers vs. points off turnovers
Iowa State had trouble turning the ball over against Cincinnati. The Cyclones tied their season-high of 18 turnovers. A multitude of those came off of bad passes that went into the crowd.
“At least we [were] trying to move the ball,” Jones said.
However, there was a silver lining for Iowa State. Though the 18 turnovers happened, the Bearcats could only turn those into 13 points.
On the opposite end, Iowa State turned Cincinnati over 14 times and had 20 points off of those turnovers. That disparency was one of the factors that kept Iowa State in front.
“[Cincinnati’s] team defense is really good,” Otzelberger said. “In the second half, we got to the bonus quickly, and then we continued to get those plays and get to the foul line. That helped give us a little bit of separation.”
There were no players that stood out on the amount of turnovers, but six Cyclones gave the ball away in some fashion.
Defensively, Iowa State junior guard Tamin Lipsey had four steals, which now puts him four away from the all-time school record.
Chatfield provides a spark
“Hammer plays” are what Otzelberger and the Cyclones call offensive rebounds that get put right back up and turn into points. Senior forward Brandton Chatfield had two of those plays against the Bearcats.
In fact, Chatfield provided the biggest bench spark besides Jones, with nine points and six rebounds, five of which came on the offensive glass.
“Those are some of the most winning, biggest plays of the game, and [Chatfield] continues to do those over and over,” Otzelberger said. “We take a lot of pride in controlling the paint, foul line and on the glass.”
Both of his put-backs came in the second half. Technically, the first one was a third-chance opportunity, as junior forward Joshua Jefferson, who finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals, missed a layup which was rebounded by Chatfield.
On his second-chance opportunity, Chatfield couldn’t get the shot to fall but got his own rebound. Then, as he put the ball up again, in it went.
“You get the offensive rebound and you go right back up, the crowd goes crazy,” Chatfield said. “If it’s there, take it. If you’re off-balance, kick it out.”
At that time, the Cyclones trailed Cincinnati by two after Chatfield’s put-back. A few minutes later, Chatfield did it again.
The Cyclones had two chances from deep, first with senior guard Nate Heise, who was honored before the game for reaching 1,000 points in his career. His shot was rebounded by Jones, who missed from beyond the arc as well.
An uncovered Chatfield found the ball in his hands and went up for an easy layup. After that, Iowa State rolled.
“It’s a credit to our guys,” Otzelberger said.
