#2 Men’s Basketball Drops Back-and-Forth Battle at #6 Iowa State

Monday, February 16

Ames, IA

8 p.m.

University of Houston

23-3,11-2Big 12

Iowa State

23-3,10-3Big 12

Houston

Iowa St.

Milos Uzan dribbles basketball with defender chasing him

#2 Men’s Basketball Drops Back-and-Forth Battle at #6 Iowa State

2/16/2026 9:31:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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Three Cougars register double-figure point in 70-67 loss to Cyclones

AMES, Iowa (AP) – The No. 2 University of Houston Men's Basketball team dropped a back-and-forth battle, 70-67, to No. 6 Iowa State inside Hilton Coliseum on Monday evening.

Nate Heise's 3-pointer with 1:17 to play provided the winning points and Tamin Lipsey had a huge offensive rebound and free throw in the final seconds as the Cyclones outlasted the Cougars.

The Cyclones (23-3, 10-3 Big 12) were ahead by three at halftime before Houston (23-3, 11-2 Big 12) rallied to a 58-49 lead with 11 minutes to play. The Cougars expanded the margin to 10 points with 7:09 left, but Iowa State came back, tying the game at 63 when Lipsey hit 1 of 2 foul shots with 3:45 remaining.

Freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. gave Houston a two-point lead with a layup with 3:21 left before Jamarion Bateman canned a 3-pointer to put Iowa State up at 66-65 with 2:10 to go. Freshman guard Kingston Flemings responded with a jumper to give the Cougars the lead again, but that basket was answered by Heise's 3-pointer for a 69-67 Iowa State edge.

On the Cyclones' ensuing possession, Joshua Jefferson drove the lane, but his shot was blocked by junior forward Joseph Tugler with 20 seconds to play. Cenac's short jumper with four seconds to go hit the front of the rim, and Blake Buchanan grabbed the rebound for the Cyclones and was fouled.

Buchanan missed the front end of the one-and-one free-throw chance, but Lipsey crashed the boards for the offensive rebound. Lipsey closed the win with a free throw, capping Iowa State's decisive 17-4 run.

Jefferson led the Cyclones with 12 points while Heise had 11 and Buchanan scored 10. All eight of the Iowa State players who saw the floor scored at least six points as the Cyclones won for the seventh time in eight games.

Flemings led all scorers with 22 points. Senior guard Emanuel Sharp put up 16 points for the Cougars while senior guard Uzan had 11 points, and Cenac finished with seven points and 12 rebounds.

Sharp canned a third 3-pointer, giving him eight straight Houston points, to push the Cougars on top at 23-21 at the midpoint of the first half.

The Cyclones swung back, drawing even at 28-28 and then going up 31-30 on a Heise 3-pointer with 5:34 to play in the half. A free throw by Buchanan almost three minutes later expanded the lead to four points before Iowa State settled for a 43-40 advantage at the break.

Sharp led all scorers with 16 points before halftime while Heise, Lipsey and Milan Momcilovic had eight points apiece to top the Cyclones.

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UP NEXT
• Following Monday's game, Houston plays host to #4/4 Arizona at 2 p.m., Saturday, February 21, inside Fertitta Center. That game will air on ESPN.
• From there, the Cougars meet #8/12 Kansas inside Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan., at 8 p.m., February 23. That game will air on ESPN.
• All Houston Men's Basketball games can be heard on 950 AM KPRC, the Varsity Network app and Sirius XM Radio.

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