AMES – No. 9 Iowa State grabbed an 84-67 win over No. 22 Arizona in its return to Hilton Coliseum. It happened behind a strong first half from 3-point range and lockdown defense on the other end.

It was also in front of former Cyclone players Tyrese Haliburton and Georges Niang. At halftime, Haliburton was honored for winning a gold medal with Team USA at the Paris Olympics, and Niang came to support his fellow Cyclone and friend.

“We’re so appreciative of not only everything they did when they were here, but the things they continue to do, not even as much as the accomplishments on the court, but the pride they have in Iowa State,” head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “It’s one thing when you have great players and they’re back, it’s another thing when you have great human beings who have tremendous pride in this program.”

The win brings the Cyclones to 12-6 in the Big 12 and 22-7 overall with two games to go in the regular season.

Early 3-point shooting paves the way

Out of the gate, Iowa State found its early points inside and from the free throw line. Senior forward Brandton Chatfield had a slam dunk and a put-back layup on the following possession, bringing the crowd to its feet and giving the Cyclones a 5-4 lead.

A dunk from senior center Dishon Jackson was the next basket, which made it clear, Iowa State wanted to dominate inside.

But what worked inside soon translated to the outside. 

Senior guard Keshon Gilbert drained the first 3-pointer for the Cyclones seven minutes into the game. Over the next seven minutes, Iowa State made eight shots in a row. Seven of them were 3-pointers.

“[Arizona] was really trying to protect the paint a lot,” sophomore forward Milan Momcilovic said. “We kind of took advantage there in that eight-minute stretch.”

Of those seven, four came from Momcilovic. He finished 4-for-7, while the team as a whole was 11-for-21. The first half was where the brunt of the work from deep was done, as the Cyclones were 9-for-13 in the opening 20 minutes.

“Our guys, specifically in that first half, did a great job of keeping it on the move, and then it would find guys,” Otzelberger said.

With the final 3-point percentage at 52.4%, it set a new season-high for Iowa State.

Gilbert (2-for-4), junior guard Tamin Lipsey (2-for-3), senior guard Curtis Jones (1-for-2) and senior guard Nate Heise (2-for-4) all contributed to the team’s 3-point success.

“When we get the ball moving, everyone feels good about themselves,” Lipsey said. “Everyone [was] feeling positive about their role.”

Bench provides a boost

With Gilbert back, Iowa State’s lineup was back to its normal look and typical eight-player rotation.

The players who usually provide minutes off the bench, Jones, Chatfield and Heise, combined for 34 points, 15 of the Cyclones’ 31 rebounds and each had one assist.

Chatfield was the first to make the scorer’s sheet with his back-to-back buckets.

“He was a huge boost,” Lipsey said. “That dunk that he had, that was one of my favorite plays, just the aggressiveness that he showed.”

Otzelberger commended Chatfield for his physicality and how he commanded the glass, as he finished with eight rebounds, three of which were on offense and two of those Chatfield put up himself.

“[Chatfield] felt like, of everybody that played in the game, was the most physical,” Otzelberger said. “He was tremendous.”

Heise has started to emerge as a stronger offensive weapon for the Cyclones in recent games and was again Saturday. With 12 points, it was the fourth game in a row that Heise scored more than 10.

The point total came on 5-for-9 shooting from the floor and his 2-of-4 shooting from deep.

“[Heise] has really stepped up for us,” Otzelberger said. “Over the last few weeks, he’s been a huge bright spot. As he’s gotten more opportunities, he’s stepped up.”

The final piece of the bench, dubbed the ‘sixth starter’, Jones scored all 12 of his points in the second half. Jones was quiet for the most part, only putting up two 3’s and six shots in total.

A good chunk of his pay came from the charity stripe, where Jones was 5-for-6. Iowa State as a whole was 19-of-23 from the line, led by junior forward Joshua Jefferson, who was 6-for-8.

Though Jones wasn’t the leading scorer, that being Momcilovic with 17, Jones still did what was needed of him to help his team pull off a win.

“I never want to take for granted the amazing job he does coming off as a sixth starter,” Otzelberger said. “When his opportunity came from 3, they really tried to take it away from him, that opened the court for others, and then when it presented itself, he knocked it down.”

Turnover bug still lingering, defense still tough as nails

In the past six games, and all but three Big 12 games, Iowa State has had 10 or more turnovers. The Cyclones had 16 against the Wildcats.

Otzelberger simply said the amount was “too many.”

However, Arizona only managed 12 points off of those turnovers, while Iowa State had 19 points off of the Wildcats’ 14 turnovers.

“It’s certainly something that we’re aware that we need to be better with,” Otzelberger said.

It goes back to how tough the Cyclone defense was, holding Arizona to shoot just 33.3% in the game and 18.2% from deep.

Momcilovic alone made the same amount of 3’s as Arizona did as a team.

Both teams tried to keep each other out of the paint, but Iowa State managed to execute its gameplan better in that aspect, forcing tough shots outside that the Wildcats couldn’t hit, while the Cyclones did on their end.

“Personally, when I focus on defense and rebounding, pressuring the ball, the offense just kind of comes to itself,” Lipsey said. “I feel like we did a good job communicating.”