By Henry Rawn
2 15 2025
AMES, Iowa — Jizzle James matched a career-high 25 points, including 17 in the first half to give UC a lead after a 12-point deficit, but No. 10 Iowa State posted a 37-19 advantage on the boards to pull away, 81-70, on Saturday afternoon.
James, who had 25 in Tuesday’s win over Utah and 24 in last Saturday’s win over BYU, is the first Bearcat since David DeJulius in February 2022 with 20-plus points in three-straight games.
The Bearcats had also out-rebounded the Cougars and Utes by a combined 27 in its most recent outings.
James’ pair of technical-foul shots gave Cincinnati its first lead at 36-34, then he followed with a triple for his 17th points of the game to help UC to 39-all at the break.
Momentum swung both ways quickly. Fresh out of a media timeout, Dan Skillings found Simas Lukosius for a 3-pointer from the wing, and Dillon Mitchell picked off a pass on the ensuing possession for a windmill dunk and 48-45 lead at 15:06. The Cyclones countered with a 10-0 run to lead 55-48 at 10:45.
Josh Reed’s second trey of the night brought UC within 63-59 with 7:14 left. The fourth technical foul on the night, one on each head coach and a player on both sides, helped kickstart a 7-0 run that was too much to overcome.
Iowa State’s 14-9 lead to start forced a Cincinnati timeout at 14:28. The Cyclones started 5-of-8 with four assists, while the Bearcats were 4-of-8 with none.
ISU stretched it to 25-15 at 10:25, making eight of its last nine shots before the Bearcats’ second timeout.
FROM WES MILLER
“We’re disappointed, because we thought we had our chances tonight. There were things I was proud of (today). The defensive glass in the second half was a differentiator, and that was very obvious. Sometimes it’s not simple as to how you win or lose a game. There are a lot of complexities to it. This was a simple one tonight, and that was a massive difference in this game. We had some good defensive possessions and couldn’t clean the glass. It’s the Big 12, and (Iowa State) has only lost once here in two years, and we have to regroup and be ready for the next one.”
UP NEXT
Cincinnati will head to Morgantown for a Wednesday night contest at West Virginia (7 p.m.).
COURTESY UC SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS
