KANSAS CITY, Missouri — All eyes were, once again, on point guard Monte Morris on Thursday afternoon.

The senior put up 21 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had nine assists — one away from a triple-double — in No. 23 Iowa State’s (21-10, 12-6 Big 12) 92-83 win against Oklahoma State (20-12, 9-9 Big 12) at the Sprint Center in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Championship.

The recognition is well deserved, and he’ll get a majority of the credit for the win.

Yet it was an unfamiliar face that shined behind Morris on Thursday: forward Darrell Bowie.

Bowie put up 13 points, going 5-of-7 from the field, and had four rebounds. He shut down Oklahoma State inside, recorded a block and threw down three dunks — one of which Donovan Jackson said added a lot of momentum during Iowa State’s late run.

“He was arguably the MVP besides Monte’s stat line, which is insane,” senior Naz Mitrou-Long said. “He really did that for us. He was creating opportunities for us on the glass, playing defense. He was finishing in the lane, making free throws. I don’t know what he didn’t do tonight.”

Bowie’s chance came when forward Solomon Young, Iowa State’s freshman center, got into foul trouble early. Young was struggling inside, so Prohm gave Bowie a chance.

“Just when I saw [Solomon Young] — he’s a good player — but when he got into foul trouble and everything and seeing how the game was going … I just wanted to stay open and come in and do what the team wanted me to do,” Bowie said.

Bowie, who transferred to Iowa State this season from Northern Illinois, has had an untraditional season. He’s played in 28 of Iowa State’s 31 games — sometimes a lot, sometimes a little. He’s started in nine of them during a random stretch this season.

He averages just 5.5 points per game, and plays an average of 17.3 minutes per game — although it’s hardly on a consistent basis.

Yet Bowie said it didn’t deter him, and his night on Thursday won’t either.

“I just knew that my time was going to come back around,” Bowie said. “I’m just going to stay hungry and humble and just take it game by game. I’m just going to prepare for either TCU or Kansas. I’m not really worried about myself.”

Bowie’s role on the team has had to change multiple times this season, and finding a comfortable groove when playing time is so inconsistent is no easy task. Keeping Bowie committed and engaged while in an untraditional role is something Iowa State coach Steve Prohm has been focused on all season.

Now they’ve found their rhythm.

“It’s a tough sell to anybody,” Prohm said. “If I’m telling Monte, ‘Hey, go, go, go.’ That’s probably not even a tough sell. But when you’re telling somebody you have to change for the good of the team, that is a tough sell. Your character, your toughness, your selflessness, how much you really care about winning, that’s what we had to ask ourselves.

“Because we weren’t playing to win for a while. Too many seniors were playing for the wrong reasons.

So while many Iowa State fans — and most of the college basketball world — will be drooling over Morris’ near triple-double performance, they shouldn’t sleep on Bowie.

After all, it’s going to take players like him stepping up for the Cyclones to make a true run in postseason play.

“You don’t win tournaments in March or April if you don’t play like this,” Mitrou-Long said. “Look at our last Big 12 [tournament] win. If Bryce [Dejean-Jones] — rest in peace, Bryce — if Bryce and [Abdel Nader] don’t come in and have the games that they have, we don’t win. We don’t win this tournament.

“You need the whole team. You need unexpected guys to step up and do what they do.”