Cyclones drop 2-OT heartbreaker

AMES (AP) — Richie Saunders scored 23 points and No. 23 BYU outlasted No. 10 Iowa State 88-85 in double overtime Tuesday night for its seventh consecutive victory.

Dallin Hall had 22 points off the bench for the Cougars (22-8, 13-6 Big 12), who recovered after blowing a 21-point lead in the second half. Egor Demin added 12 points and Mawot Mag scored 10.

Joshua Jefferson finished with 19 points and Milan Momcilovic had 18 for the Cyclones (22-8, 12-7), who have lost three of four. Curtis Jones scored 16, Tamin Lipsey added 15 and Keshon Gilbert contributed 13 points and eight steals.

Despite setting a season high with 29 turnovers, the Cougars pulled out an impressive road win over a top-10 team. The Cyclones had 18 steals but were outrebounded 52-24, with Keba Keita grabbing 15 boards for BYU.

The Cougars led 54-33 with a little over 13 minutes left in regulation, but a 3-pointer by Momcilovic tied it at 66 with 44 seconds remaining. Hall’s tiebreaking layup 21 seconds into the second overtime gave the Cougars the lead for good, and Demin’s two free throws made it 87-83 with 2:04 to play.

Lipsey had eight turnovers and no assists. The junior also went over 1,000 career points. He is already the program’s all-time leader for steals.

Saunders made all 13 of his free throws, a season high.

Iowa State visits Kansas State on Saturday.