By Rob Gray, correspondent
AMES — Joshua Jefferson didn’t have time to grouse about missing a free throw.
Within seconds, the dynamic Iowa State forward was being fed by Keshon Gilbert for a top-of-the-key 3-pointer after fellow forward Dishon Jackson rebounded his miss.
Swish.
And so it went for Jefferson — a 6-8 transfer from St. Mary’s — who obliterated his previous career high with 30 points in the No. 3 Cyclones’ 108-83 dismantling of UCF Tuesday before a crowd of 14,267 at Hilton Coliseum.
“I just give all praise to my teammates, just putting me in the right positions to score,” he said. “They were looking for me.”
As for adding a third 3-pointer late to score 30 — nine above his previous career-best effort set almost a year ago to the day at San Francisco?
“(Guard Curtis Jones) and (Gilbert) at the end of the game saying, ‘Go get 30,’” said Jefferson, who went 3-for-4 from long-range and 9 of 14 from the field overall. “So we ran a couple sets for it.”
ISU moved to 16-2 to start a season for the fourth-time in program history and now stands 6-1 in Big 12 play. Gilbert added 21 points eight assists and three steals to surpass 100 thefts in his career. Jones notched 19 points and eight rebounds. Jefferson did a little bit of everything, as usual, grabbing seven boards, dishing out five assists and snaring four steals.
“With Joshua, obviously we’re seeing with every game how he’s continuing to impact winning in different ways,” said ISU head coach T.J. Otzelberger, whose team shot 56 percent from the field and outrebouded the Knights (12-6, 3-4), 43-29. “And tonight you could just tell he had confidence in his shot. He puts the work in, so it’s great our guys recognize that.”
The Cyclones played erratically early, losing eight turnovers while forcing just three in the first 12 and a half minutes. UCF took an 18-15 lead with 12:20 left in the first half, but Demarion Watson once again sparked ISU off the bench — draining a corner 3-pointer off a Gilbert assist to tie the score.
Gilbert added a 3-pointer on there ensuring possession, helping ignite a 13-3 run capped by Jones’ long-range basket that put the Cyclones up by seven, at 28-21. They wouldn’t trail again, but Watson’s first 3-pointer of the season proved to be a lid lifter for ISU, which had made just one of its previous 20 shots from beyond the arc, including a 1-for-17 performance in Saturday’s 64-57 loss at No. 23 West Virginia.
“That was big time,” Jones said of Watson’s long-range hoop. “Made his free throws, and just his presence on defense — rebounding well. He had five rebounds in 11 minutes, which is crazy.”
Watson scored a season-high 11 points in that relatively short timespan, and Nate Heise provided significant contributions off the bench, as well, totaling nine points while matching Jefferson with four steals. Heise also hit his first 3-pointer in Big 12 play after starting 0-for-12 from long distance.
“Nate is capable of so much out there,” Otzelberger said. “We all recognize and see what he does defensively, on the glass, (with) steals … We’re gonna continue to demand from him that he’s a more aggressive offensive e player because we know what he can do. We know he can make shots. We know he can drive the ball and score.”
He can also force turnovers in multiple ways, which helped the Cyclones make a rapid turnaround in that area. ISU outscored UCF in points off those miscues, 23-2, after being outscored, 9-2, in that area early in the game.
“It was bad,” Jones said. “Like, it looked bad at first. I know it looked bad and we really didn’t want it to be like that no more, so (we put) an emphasis on taking care of the ball and making the right passes.”
Then they could focus on making sure Jefferson dropped 30 for the first time in his college career.
“There really ain’t nothing we feel like he can’t do out there,” Jones said, “which helps a lot.”
