Jan 18, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Curtis Jones (5) dives for a loose ball during the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images
Clang. Boink. Thud.
No. 2 Iowa State simply couldn’t shoot straight from 3-point range Saturday at West Virginia, and its 1-for-17 performance from beyond the arc helped pave the way for a 64-57 loss in Morgantown.
The Cyclones (15-2, 5-1 Big 12) sank just 5.9 percent of their long-range attempts and ran out of gas down the stretch to fall on the road to the Mountaineers (13-4, 4-2) for the ninth straight time.
“(That) ain’t gonna get it done a lot,” ISU’s leading scorer, Curtis Jones, said on the Cyclone Radio Network after his team’s nation-leading 12-game win streak was snapped. “I was 1-for-6. I’ve gotta be better than that.”
And he usually is.
Jones scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Fellow guard Keshon Gilbert added 13 points, and forward Joshua Jefferson notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. ISU led by as many as seven points late in the first half and four points midway through the second half, but West Virginia responded each time. Star guard Javon Small scored 20 of his game-high 27 points in the second half for the Mountaineers, who limited the Cyclones to a season-low four assists on 25 made field goals.
“Their defensive game plan was pretty solid,” said ISU point guard Tamin Lipsey, who had one of those scarce assists. “Just being in the gaps, being there when we wanted to drive.”
West Virginia outscored ISU 27-0 from long range and 11-to-6 from the free-throw line. The absence of injured forward Milan Momcilovic — who shoots a team-best 44.3 percent from distance — magnified the Cyclones’ shooting problems, as his mere presence on the floor helps his team space the floor and create other opportunities. He’ll be out four to six weeks, though, so ISU will need to find different ways to prevent stagnation on offense.
“(We’ll) just continue to evolve as a team and adjust t how we need to play, and how we can do things without that additional shooting threat,” head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “We’ll work on it and we’ll get better.”
The Cyclones missed all 11 of their 3-point attempts in the first half and trailed, 25-24, at the break.
Those long-range shooting woes extended into the second half, but Jones finally hit one with 13:18 left to give ISU a 35-34 lead. He then drained a short jumper to put the Cyclones ahead, 37-34. ISU took a four-point lead on Gilbert’s driving layup moments later, but West Virginia fought back with an 11-2 run to take control with a 47-43 advantage with 6:56 left. The Cyclones trailed the rest of the way, despite staying within one possession of the lead until the final 90 seconds.
“It’s gonna be about how we handle this, and not having it be something that lingers,” Otzelberger said. “(We need) to learn from it, be better for it, and to come out and be at our absolute best on Tuesday evening.”
That’s when ISU will try to regroup against UCF (12-5, 3-3) at Hilton Coliseum. The Knights nearly upset the Big 12’s lone remaining unbeaten — No. 10 Houston — on Saturday, but fell, 69-68, in Orlando.
“We know we’re gonna get their best shot,” Otzelberger said.
