Iowa State finished 2011 with a win, but hardly on a high note. 

The Cyclones (10-3) barely escaped with a 67-65 win against Mississippi Valley State (1-11) on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum. The Delta Devils came into the game with only one win and 10 losses. 

The Cyclones were without their best player Royce White, who is suffering from the flu, only played three minutes and missed his only shot of the game. 

Stepping in for White was the St. Louis native Anthony Booker. Booker was 4-of-9 from the field and a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe, netting him 10 points. He also had five rebounds and a steal to go with his game. 

Leading Iowa State offensively was Melvin Ejim. Ejim filled his role nicely as sharpshooters Chris Babb, Chris Allen and Scott Christopherson shot a combined 25 percent from the field and only managed three 3s on 15 attempts. 

Ejim had a stand-out day, posting his career-high in rebounds with 15. He also had 15 points, which landed him his fifth double-double of his career. 

The Delta Devils battled back after being down 18 points with 1:34 left in the first half. Part of that second half surge was thanks to some hot shooting behind the arc, where they drained seven 3s. 

The Cyclones also shot poorly from the free-throw line, making only 15-of-26 attempts. 

Chris Allen, however, did successfully make two straight free throws with two seconds left in the game to put the game out of reach at 67-62. After those two free throws, MVSU’s Cor-J Cox nailed a 3 as time expired to make it 67-65 in favor of Iowa State. 

Iowa State finished 2011 and non-conference play at 10-3. Next up, the Cyclones start Big 12 play at home against powerhouse Texas on Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum. Tipoff will be at 8 p.m.