It was a back-and-forth battle down the stretch, but the Cyclones never relinquished the lead in the final eight minutes.

They stepped things up a notch in the last five minutes, pulling away to secure the win. The Cyclones pushed their lead back into double figures and clamped down defensively by forcing Colorado into a scoring drought that lasted nearly three minutes. The Buffaloes got a too-little-too-late basket with 15 seconds left.

Various players had a hand, too. Jones and Chatfield delivered quality minutes off the bench. Dishon Jackson scored all eight of his points in the second half and finished with six rebounds, including four on the offensive glass.

Lipsey and Gilbert made timely plays on both ends. Jefferson’s versatility shined once again.

Turnovers played a role in the rematch, as Iowa State forced 19 turnovers and scored 24 points off of them.

“Shows how deep we are, how much grit we have,” Jefferson said of the win on Cyclone Radio. “If things aren’t going our way — I don’t think any of us shot the best from the field — so just continue to play hard. If we can’t get it on offense, we’re going to make it on the defensive end.”

Iowa State basketball: TJ Otzelberger on Brandton Chatfield’s growth

Iowa State basketball coach T.J. Otzelberger noted Brandton Chatfield has been brimming with confidence in recent practices.

Brandton Chatfield makes a statement for Iowa State

In the lead-up to Iowa State’s final non-conference game against Morgan State on Dec. 23, head coach T.J. Otzelberger had been complimentary of Chatfield’s energy and effort in recent practices and noted he had been gaining confidence and that his “best basketball was ahead of him.”

On Monday night, the Seattle transfer certainly turned a corner and provided a crucial performance off the bench in the winning effort.

He had nine points, which included a couple of second-chance buckets, but his urgency on the offensive glass and defense was most impressive.

All seven of Chatfield’s rebounds were on the offensive end. He played a big part in helping the Cyclones rack up 20 offensive rebounds and 21 second-chance points as a team.

In addition to battling the Buffaloes’ bigs, there were also times he was switched on Colorado’s top scorer Julian Hammond III on defense and held his own.

“Best game yet as a Cyclone,” Otzelberger said of Chatfield. “Really set the tone. It wasn’t just the seven offensive rebounds, it was everything else he was doing out there, but those seven offensive rebounds were big-time plays and we get second-chance points.”

Joshua Jefferson sets an Iowa State record, ties another, for steals in a game

Jefferson continues to prove he is an impact transfer.

The versatile 6-foot-9 forward enjoyed another all-around outing, with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting, seven rebounds and eight steals.

He tied teammate Tamin Lipsey’s program record for most steals in a game. Lipsey had eight steals in a Dec. 10, 2023, win over Prairie View A&M last season.

However, Jefferson’s eight steals were the most by an Iowa State player in a Big 12 Conference game.

It is also a new personal-best for Jefferson, who had six steals in a win over Portland when he was at Saint Mary’s last season.

“It’s always going to be hard beating the same team twice,” Jefferson said of his mindset entering the game. “Just take the hits and they’re going to make runs, we’re going to make runs and just continue to play hard.”

Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.