Diante Garrett’s fade away jumper banked off the backboard and gave the Cyclones a 59-58 lead with 11.7 seconds remaining. That basket capped off an improbable comeback for the Cyclones who were trailing by as much as 14 in the second half.

His shot defeated helped send Iowa State to a 61-58 win over UC Davis Friday night at Hilton Coliseum in a game much closer than most fans, but not coaches, expected.

“I was scared to death of this game, and the more I watched of UC Davis the more impressed I was with it. It was as tough a first game for us as you could possibly ask for,” said head coach Greg McDermott.

The Aggies led the Cyclones 54-46 with less than three minutes remaining but that’s when the shots began to fall for Iowa State. The Cyclones scored on their final eight possessions of the game.

Garrett’s big basket was just the second field goal of the game for him as he was struggling to find his shot.

“That was a big shot. First Missouri, now this one,” said Craig Brackins. “I asked him in the locker room how many more are you going to get under your belt.”

In his long awaited debut, sophomore Lucca Staiger, who sat out all last year after an NCAA elegibility infraction, came into the game midway through the first half to a standing ovation. Staiger stroked a baseline jumper in his first shot as a Cyclone.

“I waited for this day for over a year now. It was finally here and it was just fun to be out there with all the guys,” Staiger said.

The first half was sloppy for both teams with shots spraying off the rim left and right. Iowa State shot just 11-of-29 from the field including 1-of-9 from beyond the arc. Despite the poor shooting effort, ISU still led 25-20 at the half.

It didn’t help that Craig Brackins picked up two quick fouls two minutes into the game and had to watch the rest of the first half from the bench. With Brackins on the bench, the Cyclones offense struggled to find any rhythm what-so-ever.

The scrappy defense that is accustomed to McDermott’s teams is what kept UC Davis from running away with this game early.

The Aggies found their three point shot in the second half and went on a 22-6 run to open up the second half.

The Cyclones got the game to within three points at 48-45 after a Wes Eikmeier three point shot, but the Aggies scored the next four points to settle the crowd down and eventually took a 54-46 lead with three minutes remaining.

Junior college transfer Jamie Vanderbeken recorded a double-double in his first game as a Cyclone. He led the team in both points and rebounds with 14 and 10 respectively.

After starting the game 1-of-13 from three point range, the Cyclones settled down and made 5 of their last 7, including three from freshmen Wes Eikmeier.

Iowa State (1-0) faces Loyola Maramount (0-1) at 12:30 in Hilton Coliseum on Saturday.