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BYU's Dallin Hall (30) dunks the ball against No. 10 Iowa State in a Big 12 men's college basketball game in Ames, Iowa, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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An exhausted Richie Saunders hugs teammate Mihailo Boskovic after an 88-85 double overtime win against Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU men's basketball coach Kevin Young (center) celebrates in the locker room after an 88-85 double overtime victory against No. 10 Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Mawot Mag (center) reacts to a foul call in a Big 12 men's basketball game against No. 10 Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Richie Saunders takes a shot against No. 10 Iowa State in a Big 12 men's basketball game in Ames, Iowa, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Keba Keita (13) blocks a shot attempt from Iowa State in a Big 12 men's basketball game in Ames, Iowa, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Mawot Mag (0) drives to the basket against Iowa State in a Big 12 men's basketball game in Ames, Iowa, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Egor Demin (3) drives against Iowa State's Dishon Jackson in a Big 12 men's basketball game in Ames, Iowa, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU men's basketball coach Kevin Young (right) hugs Richie Saunders after an 88-85 overtime victory against No. 10 Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Richie Saunders reacts in the locker room after an 88-85 double overtime victory against No. 10 Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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No. 23 BYU had to overcome a mountain of adversity against tenth-ranked Iowa State in Ames on Tuesday.

A horrific offensive start. Its own ball security issues — a season-worst 29 turnovers. The momentum of an incredible ISU comeback, with the home team getting every call it needed to make up a 21-point deficit in the second half.

And, oh, yeah, 14,267 screaming Cyclone fans believing in “Hilton Magic” that has produced 33 wins in the previous 34 home games over the past two seasons.

In the end, the Cougars simply outlasted Iowa State with toughness and grit, fighting through fatigue and the mental cost of losing a huge lead to secure one of the biggest wins in school history.

When the scoreboard at Hilton Coliseum hit triple zeros to finally bring an end to a nearly three-hour college basketball game, BYU left the court on top in an 88-85 double overtime thriller.

“I think we just came in and had the mentality to do whatever it takes to win,” Cougar guard Mawot Mag said on the BYU Sports Network. “I feel like we just followed the game plan. And when we faced adversity, we didn’t fall. We just embraced it and kept pushing through.”

The Cougars’ seventh straight win was huge in so many ways, but the most important is that it assures them no worse than the No. 4 spot in the upcoming Big 12 Tournament, a double-bye to the quarterfinals.

Kevin Young and his coaching staff are building some kind of winner in Provo, aren’t they?

“It was just toughness, honestly, that’s the biggest thing that come to comes to mind,” Young said. “After having that big lead they ratcheted that pressure up, and our guys were having a hard time with it. But nobody ever lost confidence. No one ever got to rattled. We just kept making play after play.”

Almost too many big plays to mention — “I can go on for days and hours,” Mag said when asked to name a favorite — but ultimately the Cougars got the stop they needed in the second overtime. Clinging to an 87-85 lead with under 30 seconds to play, Young looked his players in the eyes during a time out and challenged them to made one final play.

“We came out and we had a plan,” Mag said. “He wanted us to use toughness. We switched one through five and got the job done, whatever it takes.”

As the shot clock counted down under five seconds, Mag forced Keshon Gilbert to give up the ball at the 3-point line to Milan Momcilovic, who was hounded by Trey Stewart in the corner. Momcilovic failed to get off a shot before the buzzer sounded with 4.3 seconds to play. Dallin Hall was fouled and made 1 of 2 free throws with one second left for the final margin.

“We had a coverage and we executed,” BYU guard Richie Saunders said. “Even with that we had to stay focused on the thing at hand. Trey got a really great contest on an incredible shooter. We work on that all the time.”

Saunders led BYU with 23 points and played 47 of a possible 50 minutes. He was only 4 of 12 from the field but absolute nails at the foul line, making all 13 shots he attempted. Dallin Hall scored a season high 22 points and added five rebounds and three assists, playing 32 minutes while fighting off cramping.

Egor Demin added 12 points and Mag 10, but special mention has to go to Keba Keita, who grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked three shots.

Other numbers: BYU was 11 of 32 from the 3-point line (34%) and 25 of 31 (81%) from the free throw stripe. Iowa State scored 34 points off of the Cougars 29 turnovers but BYU offset that deficit with a whopping 52-24 advantage in rebounding, including 17 offensive boards to ISU’s six.

Joshua Jefferson led Iowa State (22-8 overall, 12-7 Big 12) with 19 points (11 of 13 from the foul line). Momcilovic had 18, Curtis Jones 16 and Gilbert 13 for the Cyclones.

The game had more drama than any Oscar-nominated movie. The Cougars didn’t score for six-and-a-half minutes to open the game, eventually falling behind 14-5. But BYU sprinted to the end of the half, outscoring Iowa State 16-2 to take a double-digit lead. The Cougars led 33-24 at the break.

BYU opened the second half on a 19-9 blitz, getting 3-pointers from Mag, Trevin Knell, Hall and Saunders. After a steal, Stewart lobbed the ball to Hall on an alley-oop and the 6-foot-4 point guard threw down a ferocious two-handed dunk for a stunning 54-33 lead with 13:15 to play.

Iowa State went small and started converting the Cougars numerous turnovers into points. Aided by defense, a lot of favorable home-cooking calls and free throws, the Cyclones rolled off an impressive 35-14 run to get back into the game, eventually tying it at 66-all in a 3-pointer from Momcilovic with 42 seconds to play. Saunders and Jefferson both made pressure-packed free throws to keep the game tied in the final 20 seconds. Saunders’ tough, off-balance attempt grazed the front of the rim in the final seconds and the two teams headed to overtime.

Keta’s chase-down block on an Iowa State fast break highlighted BYU’s effort in the first extra session and Demin drove for a score to tie the game at 77-all with 22 seconds left. The Cougars forced an ISU turnover and another five minutes went up on the clock.

BYU converted back-to-back turnovers into a Hall fast break and a Saunders drive for an 83-79 lead to open the second overtime, which set up the final sequence.

“I’m tired and I don’t even know what to say, honestly,” Young said in the post-game news conference. “I have so much respect for TJ (Otzelberger) and how hard he gets those guys to play. It was just an onslaught of physicality. They made us just go out there and find a way to win that game.”

BYU (22-8, 13-6) closes the Big 12 regular season at home against Utah on Saturday for senior night.