No. 3 Iowa State defeated Arizona State 76-61 on Saturday afternoon in Tempe, Arizona, led by senior guard Curtis Jones, who finished with a career-high 33 points and seven rebounds. The Cyclones (17-2, 7-1 Big 12) won their second straight game thanks to 13 points and 10 rebounds from Joshua Jefferson and 12 points from Keshon Gilbert.
Arizona State (11-8, 2-6) has lost five of its last six games, and Adam Miller led the team with 13 points on 4-for-11 shooting. Jayden Quaintance, B.J. Freeman, and Basheer Jihad each scored nine points, and Jihad pulled down seven rebounds. Iowa State won the game with a 19-3 run.
With 5:38 left, Freeman sank two free throws to give Arizona State a 58-57 lead. After making a defensive steal and drawing a foul against Dishon Jackson of Iowa State, Freeman was awarded a trip to the free-throw line. With 3:23 remaining, the Cyclones took a 68-58 lead after scoring the next 11 points. After Demarion Watson’s game-winning slam to open the run, Gilbert scored seven points in quick succession, including a 3-pointer, two free throws, and a jump shot.
With 3:07 left, Miller scored a 3-pointer to put Arizona State within 68-61, and Iowa State ended the game with eight points in a row. Jones used a 3-pointer and two free throws to score the final five points. Arizona State’s 10-3 advantage in points off turnovers was the main factor in their 40-33 halftime lead.
In the first twelve or more minutes, the Cyclones took a 20–15 lead thanks to a solid start. With 7:48 remaining in the first half, Jones pushed Iowa State ahead by five points after making a jump shot and draining a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions.T
he Sun Devils turned the five-point deficit into a seven-point lead by finishing the half on a 25–13 run. In order to tie the game at 20, Miller made a 3-pointer after Jihad had opened the game with a layup off a feed from Alston Mason. Mason gave Arizona State the final four points of the first half. He made one of two free-throw attempts with 52 seconds left before making a 3-pointer with nine seconds to go.