ISU Drops Heartbreaker in Overtime at Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz. – Just as things looked to be in hand for the Cyclones on Monday evening, a serendipitous halfcourt heave from Caleb Love sent ISU and Arizona to overtime, where the Cyclones (17-3, 7-2 Big 12) would fall to the home team Wildcats (14-6, 8-1 Big 12) by a score of 86-75.

After splitting a pair of free throws to go up three with 2.2 seconds left, ISU was set to defend Arizona's inbound play. Initially, a play that looked to go deep, settled for a backcourt pass to the aforementioned Love – who was 5-18 and 1-10 from three at the time. He took a pair of dribbles and launched from 50-plus feet with a hand in his face and buried it, securing bonus basketball in the desert. He would catch fire in the extra period, cashing back-to-back triples, to help Arizona pull away as they were 4-5 from the field and 3-3 from deep as a team in the extra stanza.

After trailing by as many as nine points in the first half, Iowa State worked to wrestle control away from Arizona three quarters of the way through the second period and held it for the remainder of the half before Love's launch.

The Cyclones were led by junior guard Tamin Lipsey, who had a team-high 18 points, more than his last two games combined, along with four boards, a pair of assists and a steal. Keshon Gilbert had a magnificent second half and finished with 17 points and six boards. Joshua Jefferson chipped in 15 points, while Dishon Jackson had a double-double with ten points and rebounds. Curtis Jones, who scored 33 last time out, struggled to get going and ended with eight points, snapping a 21-game double-figure scoring streak.

The Wildcats were led by the hero of the game, Caleb Love, who had a game-best 22 points. Tobe Awaka was also a force for Arizona, as he recorded a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double that featured four offensive rebounds. KJ Lewis (14) and Carter Bryant (14) also finished in double figures.

How it Happened
After going scoreless in the first four minutes of Saturday's game at Arizona State, ISU started Monday's showdown much better, rushing out to a quick 6-2 lead two and a half minutes in.

Iowa State's early lead would grow to as much as six, 16-10 before the two teams went into the under-eight timeout with a combined 30 points – ISU leading 16-14. Through the first 12 minutes of action, each team was shooting under 30 percent.

Following the under-eight, ISU was able to string together some baskets and capped it with a Demarion Watson triple to open its largest lead of the half, seven, leading 25-18 with 5:22 left. From there, though, Arizona came alive, rattling off a 16-0 run to take the lead and eventually go into the half up 34-30.

The Cyclones were kept afloat in the first half by Lipsey, who had a game-high 14 points and connected on three triples. ISU's other members of the starting backcourt, Gilbert and Jones, combined for just four points at the break. Dishon Jackson was the lone other Cyclone with multiple baskets through 20 minutes.

The Cyclones made light work of Arizona's halftime lead, erasing the deficit within the first two minutes of the second half, to take a one point lead off a Lipsey layup at the 18:06 mark.

Both teams would trade leads for the next 16 minutes of play, until ISU started to tighten the screws down the stretch. With the game tied at 62-all with 4:42 left, the Cyclones saw Gilbert rattle off six in a row to put Iowa State up three, 68-65, with just over two minutes left.

Eventually the Cyclones would find themselves with a one-point lead and te ball with 20 seconds left, forcing Arizona to foul. The Wildcats hacked Jones, who knocked down a pair, to push it back to three points.

The Wildcats were fouled with ISU up three and shot free throws with three seconds left. After making the first and purposefully missing the second, ISU grabbed the board and was fouled with 2.2 left. After splitting a pair to go up three, ISU saw Arizona bury a halfcourt shot to send it to overtime where the home team would eventually run away with it. In the extra period, Arizona was 4-5 from the floor and a perfect 3-3 from deep.

Key Performers
The first half was the Tamin Lipsey show, while the second half belonged to Keshon Gilbert, as the two Cyclone guards powered ISU for most of the game. Both played a team-high 42 minutes and accounted for five of ISU's seven triples.

Notes

Curtis Jones went over 200 career rebounds at Iowa State.
Keshon Gilbert started his 90th career game tonight.
Joshua Jefferson appeared in his 80^th career game tonight.
Dishon Jackson blocked the 100^th shot of his career this evening.

Up Next
After a two-game swing to Arizona, Iowa State will be back in action on Saturday when it returns to Hilton Coliseum to host Kansas State in a White Out game. ISU and K-State are scheduled to tip off at 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN 2.

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Team Stats

Tamin Lipsey

Keshon Gilbert

Joshua Jefferson

Dishon Jackson

Players Mentioned

Keshon Gilbert

Dishon Jackson

Joshua Jefferson

Curtis Jones

Tamin Lipsey

Demarion Watson

Players Mentioned

Keshon Gilbert

Dishon Jackson

Joshua Jefferson

Curtis Jones

Tamin Lipsey

Demarion Watson

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