On one hand college basketball can be exhilarating when your team wins in spectacular fashion. However, on the other hand, it can really be heartbreaking to lose a close game. That's what happened tonight for the #10 Cyclones, who came up on the short end of the stick in double overtime against #23 BYU, 88-85.
Originally I was not planning to take either of the boys to the game tonight, as tip-off was scheduled for 8:00 PM. However, there is a blizzard warning for tomorrow, and the kid's school has already been cancelled. As it happened, Nolan agreed to go to tonight's game since he will be able to sleep in tomorrow morning.
To be honest, I was quite happy that Iowa State even had a chance to win this game at the end. BYU played very well in the first half and led at halftime by a score of 33-24. Things got worse for the Cyclones to start the second half, and at one point Iowa State was trailing by 21 points in the second half. Thankfully, Iowa State was able to mount a furious comeback, which was very similar to the game against Oklahoma in 2015.
With 9 seconds left in regulation, Joshua Jefferson made 2 free throws to tie the game and send it to the first overtime. He also made a basket with 34 seconds left in the first overtime to put ISU up two points. Of course BYU made a layup to tie it on their next possession. In the second overtime Iowa State just could not make the plays to get over the hump.
I suppose that I will call Joshua Jefferson the player of the game for Iowa State. He led the team with 19 points, and he did score some clutch points to give the Cyclones a chance at the end. He was joined in double figures scoring by Milan Momcilovic (18), Curtis Jones (16), Tamin Lipsey (15), and Keshon Gilbert (13).
Tonight's game was the 44th game that Nolan has attended. The loss snaps a 19-game winning streak of games that Nolan has attended. It was his first time watching Iowa State play BYU. For me, this was the third time I have seen the Cyclones play the Cougars. The previous games were Cyclone wins in 2024 and 2012.
Here is a recap of the 2024-25 regular season games that I attended:
Wins:
- BYU
No comments:
Post a Comment