Melvin Ejim stood under the opposing team’s hoop, exhausted but grinning.

With 20 seconds left on the clock, Ejim said it was only then that it started to sink in that he — the underrated, the underappreciated, the undersized — had undeniably put together one of the best performances in Iowa State’s history during the 84-69 win against Texas Christian University on Feb. 8.

“Mel-vin E-jim, Mel-vin E-jim,” rang from stands. All were standing, chanting and witnessing the best scoring performance in Big 12 history.

“This will get a lot of national attention, obviously,” ISU coach Fred Hoiberg said. “Because the fact it’s a Big 12 record and there’s been some pretty special players that have gone through this league.

“Melvin Ejim’s name is at the top for points, and that’s unbelievable for a guy that probably doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves.”

Ejim walked back through a stream of high-fives and hugs. His teammates — to whom he gave all the credit — all found a way to get a hand on Ejim and his 48 points, the second-best scoring output Hilton has seen — only behind the famous 102-100 overtime game in which Lafester Rhodes scored 54.

And now it isn’t the super-talented Kevin Durant, it’s not the unbelievably athletic Blake Griffin and it isn’t the unstoppable scoring Michael Beasley — it is the often-overlooked Melvin Ejim who holds the mark for most points scored in a Big 12 game with 48.

“It’s rewarding,” Ejim said. “It’s good to see that your hard work has paid off. The endless hours that you put in the gym in the summers working out trying to get better every day.”

At the half, No. 16 Iowa State led 32-22, led by Ejim’s 15 points and nine rebounds: a good start to what could be a career day.

But a day that would break records? It didn’t become apparent until down the stretch in the second half.

With 9:02 remaining in the second half, the Cyclones only led 57-50. Up to that point, Ejim had put together a career-tying 23 points with 15 rebounds. Then, over the next 6 1/2 minutes, he was unstoppable. 

Ejim went on a tear, scoring the next 20 points for Iowa State with seven made baskets. Six of those baskets came by way of assists, including an alley-oop DeAndre Kane threw from just past half court. He added another four points in the final minutes, scoring 24 of the final 26 points for Iowa State.

“Just the efficiency of his game, scoring 48 points on 24 shots,” said Hoiberg. “Melvin is exactly right, I thought his teammates did an exceptional job of finding him.”

His teammates found him early and they kept feeding him the ball.

It wasn’t just that he finished with 48 points, it was how he did it. He made 20 of his 24 shots, 15 of which were dunks or layups in the paint. He set a new career-high with 18 rebounds. He also set a new Big 12 record for field goals in a game while tying Lafester Rhodes’ 20 field goals in 1987 — when Iowa State played in the Big 8 Conference — against the Hawkeyes for the ISU record.

Ejim said it took hearing his name chanted for him to realize what kind of a night he had. It might’ve taken until Saturday’s record-breaking game for him to finally grab the nation’s attention.

Then, as Ejim walked back through the barrage of chest bumps and back slaps, he was all smiles.

“At that point I was soaking it in; guys kept congratulating me,” Ejim said. “It was a great feeling, it was an awesome feeling and I’m glad I could experience it with these guys.”

And maybe now, just maybe, Hoiberg’s first four-year starter, the underrated, the underappreciated, the undersized and often-overlooked Melvin Ejim will undisputedly get the credit his coach said he has deserved all along.