The ISU men’s basketball team was 4.8 seconds away from overtime, potentially three straight losses in Big 12 play and a huge blow to team morale.

Then Scott Christopherson dribbled up the court, banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer, erased it all and gave the Cyclones a 71-68 win against Oklahoma State.

“I didn’t think it was going in,” Christopherson said. “I don’t really know what to say about [the shot]. I’ve never done something like that, not even in high school, not even in middle school.

“It was a good feeling.”

Christopherson said the Cyclones (13-5, 3-2 Big 12) didn’t play well throughout most of the game, and it showed in the form of being outrebounded 29-27 by the Cowboys (9-9, 2-3), who came into the game with a minus-11 rebounding differential in Big 12 play.

The senior’s shot erupted the 12,397 fans in attendance and helped Iowa State survive a scare against a team that lost to No. 3 Baylor 106-65.

“It was long and I was hoping it was going to bank,” said coach Fred Hoiberg. “[We] did not play well in the second half, especially on the defensive end, but you find a way to grind it out and get stops when you absolutely need them.”

Hoiberg stopped short of saying the shot saved the season, but did say the win was one that the Cyclones may have found a way to lose instead of win earlier in the season.

“It was a huge game for us, there’s no doubt about that,” Hoiberg said. “We found a way to gut it out and walk away with the ‘W,’ which earlier in the season I don’t think we do this. We probably lose the game by 10.

“You find a way, you build off it and hopefully it gives your team a little confidence going into the next one.”

The second-year coach said his team wasn’t in the locker room celebrating the win, rather were discussing the overall play in the game and that they “need to get better” going forward.

Christopherson ended the game with 17 points on 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, including the buzzer-beater. Guard Tryus McGee and forward Royce White also each had 17 points, with McGee getting the defensive stop with 4.8 seconds left to give the Cyclones the ball.

Hoiberg’s sentiment of coming through in a situation where they hadn’t in the past was seconded by Christopherson, who said the coach was in the team’s ears about playing as one in the final minutes, when Oklahoma State had built a 66-60 lead with 3:06 left.

“[Hoiberg is] always communicating with us about keeping our cool and sticking together,” Christopherson said. “This is probably the first time since I’ve even been here that, in the last three or four minutes of the game, that a team that I’ve played on has gotten down by five, six points and had all the momentum on the other team’s side and pulled together and did what we needed to do to put ourselves in a spot to win.”

While Hoiberg didn’t go so far as to say the season lived or died on a win, he did say the team learned something about themselves in the win. Getting a chance to learn something in every game, he said, is imperative for success.

“You take every moment you’re on the basketball court — good games, bad games — and try to learn from them,” Hoiberg said. “Good teams find a way to win, even when you’re not playing your best, and we certainly found a way tonight.”