Craig Brackins raised his arms in victory as he watched a play develop up the court on Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum.

Senior guard Bryan Petersen had just hit a three-pointer to aid a Cyclone scoring run, and put the game out of reach — with six minutes left in the first half.

Iowa State (13-11, 2-7) beat the Colorado Buffaloes (9-14, 1-8) in an absolute demolition, 70-42, ending a losing run, finding a shooting touch and breathing hope into a Cyclone team that was struggling to compete in the Big 12.

“I felt like our effort was better — not that it had been bad — but we just elevated it tonight,” ISU coach Greg McDermott said.

Iowa State ended the first half up 37-9, as the Buffaloes were held to the lowest point total for a half in Big 12 history.

A stifling defense and blitzkrieg scoring by the team put the game out of reach before it even started.

A 21-0 run, taking up over eight minutes taking the score from 13-6 to 34-6 put the game away as Colorado wouldn’t get any closer.

Petersen’s aforementioned three-pointer made the score 32-6, almost the finishing touch on the streak.

Colorado shot 4-of-23 from the field in the abysmal first half, and ended 31 percent for the game.

The Cyclones out-executed, out-ran and out-shot the Buffs, and on a night that athletics director Jamie Pollard and McDermott’s father celebrated birthdays, the coach may have been the happiest person in Iowa.

“Our preparation was good, they followed the plan relatively well, but it was how hard they competed, and the extra effort and having a few smiles on their faces they’d been missing for a while — that was the difference in tonight’s game,” McDermott said.

The Buffaloes finally overtook Brackins on the scoreboard with 8:35 left in the second half, as he tore up Colorado’s man-to-man defense during both halves of the ball game. Brackins ended with 26 points and 10 rebounds, aiding Iowa State in its 37 to 27 advantage on the glass.

“We allowed Brackins early on to just catch the ball too much in a comfortable way,” Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik said. “It wasn’t any different than the last time we played him, except that it was a lot easier for him.”

Iowa State enjoyed its most dominating effort of the Big 12 schedule to break up the six game conference losing streak, and avenge a loss to Colorado 15 days prior. Colorado’s previous season-low was 46 points against TCU, and Iowa State’s previous defensive best for the year had been the 49 the team allowed against Mercer over winter break. The Buffs’ 42 points were the lowest an Iowa State team has allowed since November of 2006.

“I felt like we went out and played hard, but we played with it, and had fun. We were cheering each other on, and that’s what it is right there. That’s what you play for,” Brackins said.

Colorado was lead in scoring by Dwight Thorne II , who finished with 14 points and all of Colorado’s nine points in the first half.

Scoring leader Cory Higgins was held scoreless in the first half, and ended the game with 11, putting in his first tally with just under 17 minutes left in the second half. The Buffs were visibly frustrated by the start, although the Cyclones did allow them to score 33 points in the second half.

Recent sparkplug Charles Boozer and rest of the Cyclone bench contributed 25 points, with no other Iowa State player needing to score double-digits like Brackins to get the victory.

“I’m just going out there, and hustling as hard as I can, just helping this team win,” Boozer said.

Even though Hilton Coliseum wasn’t filled to the brim with fans, the home court advantage was vicious towards Colorado.

Iowa State sits at 17-1 against Colorado at home in the last 18 games.

It didn’t hurt that the Cyclones also nailed it from three point range, going 9-for-20 as a team.

“We had a good student crowd out there, good crowd in the stands, and you had a couple teams that were 1-and-7 playing; that doesn’t happen in very many places.” McDermott said.

“We’re blessed to be were we are, and have the support that we have.”

Iowa State will look to build on the big victory with a matchup Saturday on the road against Oklahoma State at 3 p.m.