Finally, the ISU men’s basketball team can put another tally in the win column.

After suffering through a four-game losing streak that saw them fall in blowouts (Kansas and Nebraska) and in last-minute collapses (Kansas State and Oklahoma), the Cyclones were finally able to break through, handing Oklahoma State a 68-52 defeat in Hilton Coliseum.

“We finally got the monkey off our back,” Cyclone guard Will Blalock said. “We’re ready to keep it up. We have to go one game at a time and see if we can pick people apart.”

The win moves the Cyclones to 5-8 in the Big 12, good for an eighth-place tie with Kansas State.

It also gives them momentum heading into their final three games of the season, all against teams the Cyclones have already beaten or who have a worse record.

“We’re going to take it one game at a time and go from there,” Blalock said. “These are all winnable games from here on out. We figure a lot of teams around the country are starting to get tired.

“We’re just going to keep going and see if we can make something out of nothing.”

Rahshon Clark led all scorers with 19 points, adding seven rebounds and three steals to his stat line.

“We knew he was going to step it up,” Blalock said. “He came up to me and Curtis [Stinson] after practice and told us he was going to take some of the bricks off our shoulders.”

Clark has struggled as of late, averaging just over seven points in Iowa State’s last four games. His 19 points are the most he has scored since dropping 24 on Colorado in their Feb. 5 matchup.

The extra spark from the team’s third leading scorer also took some pressure off those around him.

Blalock didn’t have the most sparkling game statistically, scoring nine points, but his play didn’t taint what Clark and others did.

“He stepped it up and he made it a lot easier for me,” Blalock said. “I didn’t have to force the issue. I was really comfortable.”

Stinson poured in 18 points for the Cyclones, adding nine rebounds and five assists.

Iowa State used strong defensive pressure to force the Cowboys into 24 turnovers while the Cyclones limited their mistakes, committing just 12 turnovers as a team.

Those 24 Oklahoma State mistakes were turned into 26 ISU points off turnovers, compared to just six Cowboy points off Cyclone turnovers.

“Oklahoma State goes after you hard in half court man-to-man and makes you turn the ball over,” said ISU coach Wayne Morgan. “The fact that we only turned the ball over 12 times was great.”

Holding a seven-point halftime lead, Iowa State let the Cowboys work their way back into the game early in the second half.

Oklahoma State pulled to within five with 9:11 to play, before Iowa State took over.

An 11-2 Iowa State run put the home team up by 14, a lead that would balloon to as many as 17 before all was said and done.

Iowa State’s next game comes on Saturday, when the Cyclones travel to Baylor to face the 2-11 Bears. Game time is set for 12:45 p.m. in Waco, Texas.