AMES, Iowa — Tamin Lipsey scored 19 points and Curtis Jones added 18 to help No. 6 Iowa State finish the season undefeated at home for the first time in 23 years with a 68-63 win over No. 20 Brigham Young on Wednesday night.
The Cyclones (24-6, 13-4 Big 12) completed their home schedule 18-0 and remained within a game of conference leader Houston heading in the final weekend.
BYU (21-9, 9-8) failed in its bid to knock off a top 10 team for the second time in as many weeks. The Cougars were led by Ricjie Saunders' 20 points.
Iowa State trailed 46-32 early in the second half before using an 11-0 run, highlighted by Lipsey's 3-pointer, to tie the score at 56 with 7:52 left to play.
The Cyclones went ahead for good on Robert Jones basket, making the score 64-63 with 2:51 left.
BYU went nearly 4 1/2 minutes without scoring, making just one of its final 9 shots and turning the ball over three times in the final 2 minutes.
The Cougars missed their first five shots - all from 3-point range - then hit six of their next nine shots behind the arc.
Aly Khalifa gave BYU a 21-18 lead with a 3-pointer. Two more by Richie Saunders completed a 9-0 run and gave the Cougars a 27-18 advantage.
Another 3-pointer and layup by Saunders gave BYU a 38-27 cushion at halftime. Saunders made all six of his shots in the opening 20 minutes.
The Cyclone began to come back when Curtis Jones made a 3-pointer and layup that pulled Iowa State within 51-45. Sounders scored and was fouled. The ensuing free throw pushed BYU's margin back to 54-45.
BIG PICTURE
The Cyclones needed a win to stay in the hunt for a share of the Big 12 title and to lock down the No. 2 seed in next week's conference tournament in Kansas City. BYU was picked in the preseason to finish 13th in the Big 12, but began this week with a chance to earn a top-four seed in the tourney.
UP NEXT
BYU: hosts Oklahoma State on Saturday
Iowa State: at Kansas State on Saturday