Feb 17, 2026, 12:13 AM ET
AMES, Iowa -- Nate Heise hit a go-ahead 3-pointer and Tamin Lipsey came up with an offensive rebound in the final seconds to cap No. 6 Iowa State's rally in a 70-67 victory over Big 12 leader and second-ranked Houston on Monday night.
Heise was 3-for-3 from 3-point range hours after sister Taylor Heise scored to help the U.S. women's Olympic hockey team beat Sweden 5-0 to reach the gold medal game in Milan.
"Of all the games from him as a Cyclone, tonight stands out as the one that was most elite," Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said of Heise. "The confidence he's playing with is awesome."
The Cyclones (23-3, 10-3) closed with a 17-4 run to take down a second top-10 team in three days. Iowa State topped No. 8 Kansas 74-56 on Saturday.
The Cougars (23-3, 11-2) had their six-game winning streak snapped and their conference lead was cut to a half-game over No. 4 Arizona heading into their matchup Saturday in Houston. Iowa State is third, a game behind Houston.
Heise hit the 3-pointer from the left corner with 1:17 to play to give the Cyclones a 69-67 lead. Houston had two chances to tie or take the lead, but was called for a shot clock violation with 43 seconds to play, then Chris Cenac Jr. missed a shot with four seconds left.
"I really think it was one of the easier mindset things, because you really got no other choice. You're not going to be able to pass the ball, there's not enough time," Heise said of his preparation for the winner. "So, when you've got no other choice, and it's just kind of muscle memory, you just know how much is on the shot clock, and what you've got to do. ... It really was the only option."
Heise was asked about his family's text message chain, given his sister's accomplishments in Team USA's win.
"It'll be fun because I think they went to sleep before the [Iowa State] game started, so they'll wake up to some fun texts," he said. "Obviously, it was cool earlier when she scored a goal and they won and they're on to the championship. So, pretty good day."
Blake Buchanan was fouled after rebounding Cenac's miss but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Lipsey, though, got the offensive rebound, tapping the ball back to Joshua Jefferson, who was fouled with one second left. Jefferson made his first free throw for the final margin.
Jefferson led Iowa State with 12 points. Heise had 11 and Buchanan had 10.
"Iowa State's good," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. "It's not an easy place to come in and win. I'm disappointed we didn't win. I'm not disappointed in our effort."
Kingston Flemings led Houston with 22 points. Emanuel Sharp had 16 points, all in the first half. Milos Uzan had 11 points.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
