Iowa State men's basketball falls short at West Virginia in foul-plagued Big 12 game

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. − The Iowa State men's basketball team came close to ending its four-game road losing streak, but instead slumped a game behind first place in the Big 12 Conference.

The 13^th-ranked Cyclones overcame a 15-point first-half deficit and led late, but were unable to outlast West Virginia in a 76-71 setback Wednesday night.

The loss put the Cyclones at 16-7 overall and 7-4 in the Big 12, one game behind Texas. Iowa State had chances to steal a win at WVU Coliseum, but could not overcome foul trouble and a bruising, relentless West Virginia squad.

Iowa State led 71-70 with less than 2 minutes to play, but two free throws from Iowa transfer Joe Toussaint put the Mountaineers back on top. Iowa State had a chance to retake the lead with 10 seconds left when Caleb Grill had a run-out, but his layup attempt spun out.

The Cyclones had the ball down three with less than 10 seconds to play, but Jaren Holmes was called for an offensive foul to end the threat.

"We’re going to trust those guys in those situations," Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said.

Holmes had 18 points to lead the Cyclones while Tamin Lipsey had a career-high 16 points. Grill chipped in 13 for Iowa State.

Iowa State had three players foul out of a game that was at times dominated by a consistently present whistle.

"We need to be mentally tough to be able to withstand that," Otzelberger said of the foul trouble his team endured. "We need to do a great job of staying in the moment, focusing on the play that’s next. We’re not in control of those stoppages and we need to make sure we’re doing what we can to be mentally prepared for whatever’s coming at us on that next play."

The Cyclones return home Saturday to host Oklahoma State at 5 p.m.

Tamin Lipsey had a career night before fouling out

Lipsey has found success this season largely by being a facilitator and doing the gritty, little things that make a big difference for the Cyclones.

Rarely has he made a major impact with his scoring. That changed against the Mountaineers.

Lipsey went 6 of 8 from the floor while scoring the first seven points of the second half en route to his career-best scoring output. His previous high-water mark was scoring 12 against UConn in November.

"Just being aggressive," Lipsey said. "They like to play our shooters out on the perimeter and sort of deny them the ball so that opened up drives for me and Jaren and other guys with the ball.

"I can learn a lot from this game. I want to be in more command of the ball. "

Lipsey isn't likely to be a high scorer too often this season, but with teams loading up on Gabe Kalscheur and Grill, it will be imperative for Lipsey to keep defenses honest with his own shooting. Teams have begun to play off Lipsey to help elsewhere, and if he's able to make a few 3s (he was 1 of 2 against West Virginia) and attack the basket, he'll make teams pay for their defensive choices.

Iowa State vs. West Virginia was a foul fest

The game devolved into a parade of fouls to start the second half. The two teams combined to draw 12 whistles before the first media timeout at 16 minutes. West Virginia found itself in the bonus with 16 minutes, 18 seconds left in the game.

In total, the two teams were called for a combined 49 fouls (30 for ISU, 19 for West Virginia) and shot 55 free throws (31 for West Virginia, 24 for ISU).

Iowa State was in major foul trouble for essentially the entire second half.

"Early, we had a lot of unnecessary fouls as well and we gave them too many points at the foul line in the second half," Otzelberger said. "Everybody’s got to be ready for their opportunity. You’ve got to be able to adjust some things playing to the strengths of guys offensively and defensively."

West Virginia shot 23 free throws in the second half; Iowa State attempted 16. Cyclone players Lipsey, Osun Osunniyi and Robert Jones fouled out.

"We need to be better at being the aggressor," Otzelberger said. "When you play other teams that are physical, when you pressure the basketball and you set the tone, the foul count thing seems to go your way.

"We didn’t do that so we had a lot of guys that were challenged with foul trouble throughout the game."

Former Hawkeye Joe Toussaint was a problem late for Cyclones

Toussaint, who transferred from Iowa after last season, was a big factor in West Virginia holding on for the victory.

He made four free throws in the final minute and successfully bothered Grill on the run-out with 10 seconds left. Grill anticipated contact from Toussaint, who backed away at the last instant as Grill missed an awkward and off-balance layup attempt.

With 4.5 seconds left, Toussaint took a charge as Holmes looked for space to set up a 3-point shot attempt. That foul call sealed the win for West Virginia.

Toussaint was 6-of-6 from the foul line and finished with eight points.

Big 12 Conference men's basketball race

Iowa State remains in the thick of the Big 12 race as the Cyclones are just a game behind the Longhorns, but if Iowa State is ultimately going to win its first regular-season title in more than two decades, it almost certainly will require another road win or two.

Iowa State opened Big 12 play with wins at Oklahoma and TCU, but has not won since Jan. 7 outside Hilton Coliseum (where they are perfect). The Cyclones' other recent road losses came at Kansas, Oklahoma State, Missouri and Texas Tech.

If the Cyclones end up a game or two behind the eventual winner, it will sting that they let very winnable road games slip through their fingers. They blew leads of 16 and 23 points at Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, respectively.

Considering Iowa State was picked to finish eighth in the Big 12 before the season started and that the Cyclones remain in excellent position for a high NCAA Tournament seed and a spot in the Des Moines pod, falling short of a Big 12 title won't be seen as a failure, but the Cyclones have had their chances to control their own destiny.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State men's basketball loses vs. West Virginia in Big 12 Conference