No. 23 BYU Holds On For Memorable 2OT Win At No. 10 Iowa State
Mar 4, 2025, 10:24 PM | Updated: Mar 6, 2025, 10:30 am
BYU basketball extends its win streak to seven games with an all-time victory.
No. 23 BYU went on the road and defeated No. 10 Iowa State, 88-85 in double-overtime in Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
FINAL: No. 23 BYU 88, No. 10 Iowa State 85 (2OT).
BYU extends its win streak to seven games.
Tough, gritty win. Impressive showing in Ames.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 5, 2025
It was a wild game that saw BYU not score for the first six minutes. Then they built up a 21-point lead in the second half to only let Iowa State force overtime.
Despite the wild twists and turns, BYU showed toughness to escape Ames with a double overtime victory over a Top-10 opponent on the road.
The win gives BYU the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament next week in Kansas City. That results in a double-bye until the Quarterfinal round of the tournament.
Here’s a recap of the wild twists and turns from BYU’s 88-85 victory.
The win improves BYU’s record to 22-8 overall and 13-6 in Big 12 play.
BYU won at Hilton Coliseum on a night where they had 29 turnovers.
That's an all-time win.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 5, 2025
Iowa State drops to 22-8 overall and 12-7 in the Big 12.
Some notable individual performers included Keba Keita, who had 15 rebounds. Of Keita’s 15 rebounds, nine were offensive rebounds.
Big 12 Player of the Year candidate Richie Saunders scored 23 points and knocked down 13-of-13 from the free throw line.
First Half
14:44 – BYU committed five turnovers in their first six possessions. The Cougars reached the first media timeout with no points and only four field goal attempts.
Iowa State wasn’t much better, as BYU’s defense held them to 1-of-8 from the field. The game’s first bucket was from Curtis Jones off the bench at 15:18. Iowa State 2, BYU 0.
11:59 – BYU has more turnovers (eight) than field goal attempts (seven). The Cougars committed three turnovers in a 90-second stretch. Iowa State has scored five points off BYU turnovers.
Kevin Young has already played nine different BYU players as he’s trying to find a lineup that can find some success against the suffocating Iowa State defense. ISU 10, BYU 3.
7:33 – Despite the poor start, BYU didn’t let Iowa State pull away. After the media timeout, Dallin Hall beat an Iowa State double-team to find an open Fousseyni Traore for a layup.
Richie Saunders was fouled on a three-point attempt by Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey. Saunders knocked down all three free throws.
Trey Stewart gave BYU a spark off the bench with a strong take to the glass for a bucket. Then, on the defensive end, he provided help-side defense on a double-team against Joshua Jefferson to force a turnover. ISU 17, BYU 12.
4:00 – BYU’s lineup of Egor Demin, Trey Stewart, Richie Saunders, Mihailo Boskovic, and Keba Keita put together a 7-0 run to tie the game at 17. The Cougars started to get looks in transition with a Boskovic corner three. After BYU tied the game at 17, ISU’s Milan Momcilovic ended a four-minute scoring drought for the Cyclones with a three. ISU 20, BYU 19.
1:13 – BYU reeled off a 12-2 run after the under-four media timeout. The Cougars were thriving in transition, scoring four consecutive points on fastbreaks. An impressive turnaround after struggling to get any shots up early in the half. Iowa State’s TJ Otzelberger had to call a timeout. BYU 31, Iowa State 22.
32.5 – Mawot Mag forced an Iowa State turnover out of the Cyclones timeout, leading to another fastbreak bucket. BYU 33, ISU 24.
Halftime: BYU 33, Iowa State 24
BYU held Iowa State to 25% from the field and 29% from three in the first half. The Cougars shot the same percentage from beyond the arc but were 6-of-8 from 2-point range.
Richie Saunders led all scorers with 10 at the half.
Second Half
15:11 – BYU opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers from Mawot Mag and Trevin Knell to extend the lead. The Cougars continued to succeed in transition as Dallin Hall knocked down an open three after a missed Iowa State free throw. BYU 45, Iowa State 31.
13:15 – BYU was clicking on all cylinders to the point that Dallin Hall is throwing down alley-oops like he’s Keba Keita. The power of the mustache. BYU 54, ISU 33.
11:26 – The Hilton Coliseum crowd was getting restless and tried to generate some energy in the building. It worked as Iowa State put together a quick 5-0 run that led to Kevin Young calling a timeout. BYU 54, ISU 38.
7:59 – Iowa State went on a 15-2 run as BYU reverted back to the offense they had to open the game as a turnover machine. The Cougars committed five turnovers over five minutes. Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic scored seven of the 15 points in the run. BYU 56, Iowa State 48.
3:20 – BYU’s 21-point lead was trimmed down to six until Dallin Hall knocked down a three after an excellent pass from Egor Demin.
On the following BYU possession, ISU’s Keshon Gilbert was called for a blocking foul defending Mawot Mag. It was a questionable call that looked like it could have been a charge. That led to Gilbert getting emotional after the blocking call and he was called for a technical. Richie Saunders then knocked down a pair of free throws to put BYU back up by 11.
Then, in 78 seconds, Iowa State popped off an 8-0 run, thanks to BYU turnovers. BYU is up to 22 turnovers in the game. BYU 63, ISU 58.
1:43 – BYU took Egor Demin off the floor after his sixth turnover. The Cougars lone point was on the front end of a 1-and-1 from Mawot Mag where Curtis Jones fouled Mag near halfcourt.
Mag missed the second free throw attempt but was able to grab the offensive rebound on a loose ball off the miss. It resulted in a jump ball that gave BYU the possession. BYU 64, ISU 61.
21.8 – BYU had a defensive lapse after Tamin Lipsey found Joshua Jefferson wide open in the paint for an easy slam dunk.
End of Regulation: BYU 68, Iowa State 68
Jefferson knocked down two free throws with 9.1 remaining. Richie Saunders put up a shot at the horn on the baseline that hit the rim with Jefferson guarding him.
Overtime
BYU found themselves down 73-72 with 2:30 remaining. It was Iowa State’s first lead since they were up 20-19 in the first half. The Hilton Coliseum crowd was deafening, and BYU quickly responded as Dalin Hall buried a three to put BYU back up by two.
With 3:30 left in the period, Keba Keita had the play of the game with a block on Iowa State’s Nate Heise that looked like LeBron James against the Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals with a rundown block. The defensive stop kept BYU up by three points.
The game was back-and-forth as Egor Demin tied it up at 79 on a crafty move to the rim with 16.1 seconds remaining.
Iowa State called a timeout to try and win it on the final play of the overtime period. But the Cyclones committed a turnover, leading to Richie Saunders firing off a half-court heave that didn’t come close.
That sent the game to double overtime. It was the first time in four years that BYU was playing in a double-overtime game.
Double Overtime
BYU guard Dallin Hall got the scoring started. Then Richie Saunders had a spicy move attacking the basket against Keshon Gilbert to put BYU up 83-79.
Iowa State never regained the lead and looked to be tired in the final five minutes.
Everyone was drained as Dallin Hall walked gingerly to BYU’s bench, needing fluids for the final stretch run.
Neither team scored a field goal in the final 1:51. But the defense did what it took to come away with the win.
Iowa State had a shot clock violation, and then Dallin Hall hit one of two from the free throw line to give BYU the 88-85 win.
FINAL: No. 23 BYU 88, No. 10 Iowa State 85 (2OT)
Up next for BYU basketball
BYU closes out the 2024-25 regular season at home on Saturday, March 8, against rival Utah at the Marriott Center. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. (MST) on ESPNU and KSL NewsRadio.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
