Curtis Jones scored 15 points off the bench, Tamin Lipsey also had 15 points and No. 10 Iowa State used dominating defense to beat host Cincinnati 68-59 on Tuesday night.
Cincinnati was charged with 25 turnovers, while its previous season high was 19.
Keshon Gilbert and Robert Jones both added 15 points for Iowa State (19-5, 8-3 Big 12), which won its third game in a row. The Cyclones have won six of their past seven contests.
Jizzle James posted 16 points, Simas Lukosius had 15 points and Dan Skillings Jr. notched 13 points for Cincinnati (15-9, 4-7). The Bearcats dropped their second game in a row against a Top 10 team at home after falling to then-No. 5 Houston on Saturday.
It was the first time the Bearcats met back-to-back Top 10 teams in 14 years (and it hadn’t happened with both games at home in 35 years).
Despite an atmosphere that might have helped spur an upset, the Cyclones were too steady.
Iowa State led by eight at halftime, then scored the first seven points in less than 90 seconds to begin the second half, building a 41-26 lead.
The Bearcats hung around because of some 3-point shooting. A trey by Skillings pulled them within 57-47 with less than eight minutes to play.
However, a scoring drought of more than three minutes for Cincinnati allowed the Cyclones to extend their lead to 14.
Iowa State was up 34-26 at halftime despite making just two of 10 attempts from 3-point range.
The Bearcats were dinged by 14 first-half turnovers. The made just eight shots from the field before the break.
It was the Cyclones’ first trip to Cincinnati since December 2015 and was the only scheduled meeting of the season between the teams. Until Tuesday, the programs hadn’t met at all since December.
–Field Level Media
