KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Donovan Jackson has never shied away from antics after making a big shot. But halfway through the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship on Thursday, Jackson found even more of reason to celebrate. 

With just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, Iowa State had the ball up five points against Oklahoma State. Point guard Monté Morris soon found himself caught in the Cowboy’s well-known half-court trap. He called a timeout, but the play hardly stopped there. 

Oklahoma State’s Brandon Averette had a few more things to say to Morris. Jackson, Morris’ roommate, rushed to his aide. Morris gently pushed Averette, escalating the shuffle at mid-court. Then Jackson and Averette got into it.

After all was said and done, Jackson and Averette wound up with technical fouls. 

That was just the spark Iowa State needed.

“I told [Morris] that it’s time to get it in mode,” Jackson said. “Because it’s time to put it on these boys. Because they took it to a whole another level that it shouldn’t have gone to.”

Morris cooly hit a 15-foot jump shot on the next possession, and laughed on his way down the court. Jackson followed it up with back-to-back 3-pointers with some showboating to boot. 

The Cyclones didn’t look back. 

Iowa State (21-10, 12-6 Big 12) went on a 10-4 run and made nine of its next 11 baskets to beat Oklahoma State (20-12, 9-9 Big 12) 92-83 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship at the Spring Center. The Cyclones will play TCU, which upset No. 1 Kansas on Thursday afternoon, at 6 p.m. Friday night. 

Morris, who was left of the Bob Cousy award finalist list this week, much to the dismay of coach Steve Prohm, was just an assist shy of a triple-double, finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. It was just nine days after he finished a rebound shy of a triple-double against Oklahoma State at Hilton Coliseum. Forward Darrell Bowie also stepped in and made an impact, racking up 13 points and four rebounds. 

But the team may not have been able to pull way if it wasn’t for the spark midway through the second half. 

“I was just using that as energy, you know,” Jackson said. “I thought the technical was kind of a bad call, honestly. So I just used that as fuel and the team used that as fuel to just blow them up.”

While the game was close from start to finish, the Cyclones were in the lead for much of it. They were ahead for nearly 36 minutes Thursday, and fended off the few threatening Oklahoma State runs.  

Iowa State extended its winning streak to 10 against Oklahoma State, dating back to the 2013 season. 

“I mean, [Oklahoma State] is a good team,” said guard Naz Mitrou-Long, who had 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting. “Everybody from top to bottom. We knew [a run] was coming. We just wanted to weather the storm once it did and we were just embracing it and we just wanted to battle back.”

Iowa State’s first half — at least the first 10 minutes of it — looked to be as complete of a period that it has played all season. The Cyclones took a double-digit lead about three-fourths through the second half. 

Oklahoma State, which entered the game off back-to-back losses, battled back and pulled within three going into halftime. And out of the half, the Cowboys continued to hold on until the midway-point of the second half. 

Morris dropped 10 points, six rebounds and six assists to help boost Iowa State to victory. And after playing 16 minutes in the first half, he played all 20 of the second half. 

“This man is flawless,” Jackson said. “That’s my brother. He keeps doing this. He keeps succeeding or breaking records. His game is nice and I’m just trying to learn from him.” 

Now, Morris, along with the other seniors, are focused on keeping the run going in their final Big 12 Championship. They will start against the Horned Frogs, a team that beat Iowa State earlier this season, Friday night. The Cyclones beat TCU at Hilton Coliseum 84-71 in the second go-around. 

“I’m just trying to win,” Morris said. “It’s my last go around in college, and I don’t want no regrets. Last year I was hurt, so I’m trying to take full advantage of this moment and soak it all in and go three out of four here.”