Curtis Jones excels as No. 10 Iowa State beats Cincinnati

Curtis Jones scored 22 points and made all 12 of his free-throw attempts, and No. 10 Iowa State held on for an 81-70 win over Cincinnati in a Big 12 Conference matchup Saturday afternoon in Ames, Iowa.

Joshua Jefferson added 13 points and seven rebounds for Iowa State (20-5, 10-4 Big 12), which won its third straight game after losing the previous three in a row. Milan Momcilovic scored 12 and Tamin Lipsey finished with 11.

Jizzle James scored 25 points on 9-for-16 shooting to lead Cincinnati (15-10, 5-9), whose three-game winning streak ended. Day Day Thomas chipped in 13 points.

Iowa State posted a 37-19 advantage on the glass, including a 12-5 edge in offensive rebounds. The Cyclones outscored the Bearcats 17-2 in second-chance points.

Cincinnati pulled within 71-65 on a 3-pointer by James with 4:29 remaining.

Momcilovic answered on the other end with a layup to make it 73-65 with 4:03 left. That started a 7-1 run for the Cyclones, who pulled ahead 78-66 with 2:28 to play.

A jump shot by Tyler Betsey and a dunk by Aziz Bandaogo pulled Cincinnati within 78-70 with 1:31 remaining. That proved to be the final scoring for the Bearcats.

Jones made two free throws and Keshon Gilbert made one of two free-throw attempts to give the Cyclones a double-digit lead in the final minute.

Iowa State dominated at the free-throw line throughout the game. The Cyclones made 26 of 30 free-throw attempts, and Cincinnati made 9 of 11 free-throw attempts.

The score was even at 39 at halftime.

The Cyclones led by as many as 12 points before the break. Jefferson finished a 6-0 run to put Iowa State on top 27-15 with 9:56 to go in the first half.

Cincinnati responded with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 27-23 with 8:25 left in the half. Thomas started the run with a 3-pointer, and James finished it with a layup and a 3-pointer.

James and Jones traded 3-pointers in the final 1:11 to even the score at intermission.

--Field Level Media