Basketball

ISU’s Dishon Jackson aims for another top performance Saturday at West Virginia

 By Rob Gray, correspondent

 AMESDishon Jackson offered up his earnest mea culpa as readily as he throws down rim-rattling dunks.

 Iowa State’s heretofore starting center came off the bench in his second-ranked team’s 74-57 win over No. 9 Kansas Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum, but not merely because of a revamped rotation made necessary by an injury to forward Milan Momcilovic.

 Jackson — a twice-transferred 6-11, 274-pound force in the paint — had missed a mandatory film session, so fellow transfer Brandton Chatfield started in his place.

 “I definitely beat myself up for it,” said Jackson, who responded to the likely temporary relegation to reserve status by scoring a season-high-tying 17 points in 19 minutes. “The didn’t really try to get on me too much about it. They just told me, ‘Don’t let it happen again,’ and it won’t happen again.”

 Jackson’s faux pas obviously didn’t diminish his productivity, as he attacked the rim with abandon, flushing down two dunks off of tight-window assists from fellow big man Joshua Jefferson. He drained nine of his 11 free throw attempts while scoring in double figures for the first time in conference play. So whether starting or coming off the bench, the surging Cyclones (15-1, 5-0 Big 12) expect him to continue to elevate his game in Saturday’s 4 p.m. road matchup with West Virginia (12-4, 3-2) in Morgantown.

 “He took the accountability,” said ISU head coach T.J. Otzelberger, whose team owns the nation’s longest winning streak at 12 games. “I think he almost felt like, whether he had let himself down, or let his teammates down, and really needed to step up to prove to them that he is with them, and this is important — I thought his response was really good.”

 The same could be said for veteran reserve forward Demarion Watson, who logged important minutes on Wednesday after sitting for a month. The spry 6-7 forward grabbed five rebounds and blocked a shot in 10 minutes of action against the Jayhawks. The junior’s a fan favorite for obvious reasons: He plays hard, he soars above the rim, and hoards 50-50 balls with regularity.

 “It’s an incredible feeling, just to get the crowd involved,” Watson said. “It just feels great. That kind of energy just flows into you, makes you want to do more stuff. (It) makes you — even though you might be tired, it gives you that extra boost, that extra energy.”

 That’s also what Watson’s always bolstered his team with, even as it’s long been a struggle to routinely crack the rotation.

 “He’s been in this spot for us before, he understands what we need from him, and what he can bring to the team,” Otzelberger said. “I think he takes a tremendous sense of pride (and) certainly he was ready, which is the coolest thing. He was ready to step up and step in and do a great job for us.”

 More will be required from all of the Cyclones’ current top eight players while Momcilovic spends a likely four to six weeks recovering from an injury to his non-shooting hand. Otzelberger said they’re hoping to avoid surgery, but it’s too soon to tell precisely what the rehabilitation process will entail.

 “(We’re) making sure we’re doing what we can to be in the best interests of his health and safety,” Otzelberger said.

 Jackson’s making sure he’s at his peak when the team needs him the most. Big games such as Wednesday’s win over Kansas coaxes extra energy out of his already revved up motor. Finding ways to consistently do that regardless of time, place or size of the stage has emerged as one of his top priorities — and it shows.

 “I like the big games,” said Jackson, who scored 12 points in the win at Iowa and 13 in the two-point loss to top-ranked Auburn in the Maui Invitational. “I have to take the same mindset into every game, but big games definitely get you a little more pumped up because you know your matchup is gonna come at you. You’ve got to be ready or he will destroy you.”

@cyclonefanatic