No. 5 Cyclones Fall to No. 4 Auburn in Final Seconds

MAUI, Hawai’i – No. 5 Iowa State (3-1, 0-0 Big 12) suffered its first setback of the 2024-25 season Monday evening, falling to the fourth-ranked Auburn Tigers (5-0, 0-0 SEC) in the final seconds of the Maui Invitational, 83-81.

The tournament’s first-ever first-round matchup between two top-five, let alone top-ten, teams lived up to the billing, as the two teams traded blows all night before an Auburn tip-in rebound with 1.2 seconds left on the board gave the Tigers the two-point victory.

Keshon Gilbert led the charge for the fifth-ranked Cyclones, as the senior tallied a game-high 23 points, going 8-10 from the field and 6-7 from the line, to pair with two assists and a steal. Curtis Jones (14), Dishon Jackson (13) and Milan Momcilovic (12) joined Gilbert in double figures as the Cyclones lost for just the second time ever under Coach Otzelberger when four or more players scored in double figures. Joshua Jefferson finished with nine points and eight boards, a team-high, as he knocked down his first two 3-pointers of the season.

Iowa State shot 47 percent from the field and 39 percent from deep, burying 7-18 from beyond the arc, and also shot well from the charity stripe, cashing in 24-29 freebies.

For Auburn, preseason All-American Johni Broome had a team-best 21 points, including the two that mattered most, as he tipped in the game-winning shot in the final seconds. Broome finished with a double-double (21 points and 10 boards), while four other Tigers finished with double-figure totals.

Despite being outscored in the paint and in transition, Auburn owned the glass, pulling in eight more rebounds than the Cyclones and earning 12 second-chance points with the most critical one being Broome’s tip-in.

How it Happened

The Cyclones came out of the gates firing, punching first against the fourth-ranked Tigers and taking a 9-4 lead into the first media timeout. Auburn responded though, trimming the ISU lead back down to two with 12:07 remaining off a Broome paint touch.

Jefferson buried his second 3-pointer of the half, putting ISU back up by five, as the Cyclones and Tigers made it to the second break of the stanza. Iowa State came back to the court throwing haymakers, rattling off a 10-0 run that featured a Lipsey lay-in, a pair of free throws from Jones, and then triples from both Jones and Momcilovic, forcing Auburn coach Bruce Pearl to call timeout. ISU would hold a double-digit lead over Auburn from the 8:54 mark of the first half until the 16:03 mark of the second half.

The Cyclones went into the lead with a 16-point cushion, riding a 6-0 stretch to end the half. At the break, Gilbert led ISU with ten points, while Jefferson had nine and both Momcilovic and Jackson had seven points.

As the two squads retook the court, Auburn looked like a different team, as its intensity was ratcheted up. The Tigers forced turnovers and buckled down on defense, forcing ISU to an 0-7 start to the period.

During ISU’s cold streak, Auburn heated up, connecting on 6-7 shots and pulling within three. The Tigers tied things up at 53-all at the 13:51 mark, erasing what was an 18-point ISU lead, and forcing a brand new ballgame.

Down the stretch of the second half, each side battled foul trouble and traded baskets as neither side was able to gain momentum to pull away. ISU fed Gilbert, while Auburn fed Broome, and the two teams continued to keep it tight.

With the two teams tied at 79 with a little under a minute left, Gilbert buried a pair of free throws to put the Cyclones up two. A great back-cut and pass from Auburn set up a layup to tie things at 38 seconds. ISU called its final timeout and drew up a play for the white-hot Gilbert who was stripped, and Auburn ran the other way. Denver Jones would miss a layup with two seconds left, but Broome’s tip-in sealed the deal, handing ISU its first loss.

Key Performers

Despite the loss, both Keshon Gilbert and Curtis Jones had milestone nights, as the two each eclipsed the 1,000-point mark on their career.

Notes

• Dishon Jackson went over 700 career points.
• Joshua Jefferson started in his 30th career game.

  • He also went over 1,000 career minutes played.

• Curtis Jones played in his 100th collegiate game today.

  • He has now made 351 field goals, hitting number 350 against Auburn.
  • Now has 1,000 career points.

• Keshon Gilbert cashed his 325th career field goal on the evening.

  • Now has 1,000 career points.

• Brandton Chatfield made his 275th career field goal.

Up Next

The Cyclones will face the loser of No. 12 North Carolina and Dayton in the consolation round of the Maui Invitational tomorrow, November 26. Tomorrow’s matchup will tip off at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU.