Balanced Scoring Attack Leads No. 10 ISU Past UCF

ORLANDO, Fla. – No. 10 Iowa State (19-5, 9-4 Big 12) claimed its fifth road victory of the season Tuesday evening, dispatching UCF (13-11, 4-9 Big 12) by a score of 77-65.

After jumping out to an early nine-point lead, Iowa State saw UCF mount a first-half run to regain control of the contest late in the first stanza. Eventually, the Cyclones wrangled back control at the three-minute mark and would never give it back, leading the rest of the way.

The Cyclones used a balanced offensive attack, as all eight Cyclones who played scored. Four Cyclones finished in double figures, as Keshon Gilbert led the way with 15. Joshua Jefferson (13), Tamin Lipsey (11) and Curtis Jones (10) rounded out the double-figure scorers, while Brandton Chatfield (9), Nate Heise (8) and Dishon Jackson (8) fell just short.

ISU saw its bench have another 25-plus point outing for the second consecutive outing, as the Cyclone bench unit outscored UCF by nine. Iowa State won the rebounding battle (+9) and had more points in the paint, in transition and via second chance as it controlled the lead for over 33 minutes of action.

UCF was led by forward Keyshawn Hall who had a game-high 22 points on 9-15 shooting. Two other Knights, Darius Johnson and Mikey Williams, finished in double figures. Freshman big man Moustapha Thiam had a game-best ten rebounds.

How it Happened
The first half featured a couple big runs as each side jockeyed for control. UCF started the scoring with a Hall step back triple to put the Knights up 3-0. The Cyclones would answer right back with a Milan Momcilovic triple and off they went.

The Cyclones would take the lead two possessions later, getting a stop and converting on a Jefferson layup. ISU would run its lead to as large as nine, going up 18-9, by the 12-minute mark. The Knights had an answer though, as coming out of the media timeout they rattled off a 10-2 run of their own, making it 20-19.

After a stop, the Knights would take the lead on their next possession, going up 21-20. The lead would grow to three, but ISU wasted no time in regaining control, as the Cyclones took the advantage at the 3:09 mark and held it for the rest of the game.

At half, ISU led by two, clutching a 32-30 edge. Jones had all 10 of his points in the first half to lead all scorers, while Jefferson had six and Gilbert had five.

ISU opened the second stanza on a 6-0 run, causing a UCF timeout, to set the tone of the half. A quick Hall and-one conversion out of the timeout trimmed the Cyclone lead to five, but that was as close as it would get the rest of the way for the Knights.

Iowa State would push its lead to as large as 15, before going on to win by 12.

Key Performers
The Iowa State bench arguably had its most balanced performance since the Baylor game on January 4. Nate Heise cashed big time threes in critical moments. Brandton Chatfield did his thing, crashing the glass and earning second chance points. Curtis Jones, well, even his off nights are still productive as he had ten points with six boards and a game-high five assists.

Notes

Iowa State is 19-5 through 24 games, marking just the fifth time in program history doing so and the first time doing it in back-to-back years.
T.J. Otzelberger moved into a tie for sixth in school history with 17 road victories.
Keshon Gilbert grabbed his 250^th rebound at Iowa State.
Joshua Jefferson started the 50^th game of his career tonight.
- He eclipsed 300 points on the season tonight.
Brandton Chatfield tallied his 300^th career field goal tonight.

Up Next
Iowa State will be back in action this weekend, when it returns home to host Cincinnati at Hilton Coliseum in the first action of a two-game homestand. Saturday's game is set to tip off at 3 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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Team Stats

Keshon Gilbert

Joshua Jefferson

Tamin Lipsey

Curtis Jones

Players Mentioned

Brandton Chatfield

Keshon Gilbert

Nate Heise

Dishon Jackson

Joshua Jefferson

Curtis Jones

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Players Mentioned

Brandton Chatfield

Keshon Gilbert

Nate Heise

Dishon Jackson

Joshua Jefferson

Curtis Jones

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

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