The stage was set in front of a sold out Hilton Coliseum.

Dick Vitale, calling his first game in Ames for a national television audience, drew a crowd everywhere he went. Johnny Orr and Fred Hoiberg emerged from the tunnel to a standing ovation. Even ISU recruiting target Rashad Vaughn drew chants.

With the lights shining in every other direction, it was ISU senior forward Melvin Ejim who shined the brightest of all, leading Iowa State to a 77-70 victory against No. 7 Michigan in a game he wasn’t initially expected to play in.

“This is my last go-around; I’m with a great group of guys, and I want it to be special,” said Ejim, who scored a game-high 22 points to go with nine rebounds. “Just to get back and to play with these guys, go out and enjoy this game with them was really my motivation.”

Michigan (2-1) threatened to pull away from Iowa State (3-0) when Glenn Robinson III hit a 3-pointer with 12:47 remaining in the game to push the Wolverines, last season’s national runners-up, ahead by eight.

ISU coach Fred Hoiberg promptly called a timeout.

“A team can go one of two ways when you call that timeout,” Hoiberg said. “They can go out and feel sorry for themselves and go back out with their heads down, or they can regroup and get together and find a way to pull back in it. I’m glad that’s what they decided to do.”

The Cyclones went on a 5-0 run during the next 37 seconds — junior forward Dustin Houge dunked, and Ejim came up with a block that led to a 3 from sophomore guard Naz Long — and they drew within three points.

When Michigan moved back ahead by six on a hard dunk from Nik Stauskas minutes later, it was Ejim who stepped up, hitting a 3-pointer. 

“He rose up and knocked down, maybe the most important shot of the game, when they were backed off him,” Hoiberg said. “I was over there yelling to shoot it. He just rose up with confidence and had great rhythm and knocked down a big shot.”

The Cyclones took the lead with 6:29 remaining in the game, their first lead since the 18:24 mark of the second half.

“Of course, once they got the lead then, that building gets jumping, and we missed some pretty good shots during that time that could have quieted them,” said Michigan coach John Beilein. “It just wasn’t meant to be.”

Iowa State used a 7-1 run to pull ahead before Michigan eventually drew within one. The Cyclones sealed their first victory against a top-10 nonconference opponent at Hilton Coliseum since the Cyclones beat No. 7 Iowa in 1987, with an 8-2 run to end the game, prompting fans to storm onto the court.

Ejim, who had missed Iowa State’s first two games with a hyperextended left knee, was originally expected to miss four to six weeks of game play. His return Sunday came with just more than two weeks out of play.

“Melvin, you can’t say enough about him,” Hoiberg said. “I told him in my office yesterday, ‘If you do get the green light, I’m going to gradually ease you back into this thing.’ I think I took him out for two minutes in the second half.

“This one’s hard to top for Mel.”

When the spotlight was on everything else surrounding the game, Ejim took center stage. Now, after the first big win of the season, it’s a matter of keeping the momentum going.

“This is huge for our program,” Niang said. “For our fans to see a team winning like this, this is huge for them. For them to camp out all night and then to see this, it’s just awesome for our program, and I’m just excited for things that are in the future for us.”