There’s no place like home.

That mantra had no greater meaning for the ISU men’s basketball team than it did Saturday as it defeated No. 15 Kansas 68-61, increasing its Hilton Coliseum winning streak to 15.

“There is magic in Hilton, our guys just play great when that crowd gets going and gets behind them like that. It’s a great feeling to have that many people behind you,” head coach Wayne Morgan said.

“My players love our fans and they play for them.”

It was rough going early in the first half for both teams, with each missing most of its shots.

Iowa State took a 12-11 lead on a Curtis Stinson basket with 11 minutes left in the first half. However, Kansas immediately went on a 10-2 run to lead by seven.

With 3:18 left in the half, Kansas’ Michael Lee hit a 3-pointer to give the Jayhawks their biggest advantage at 27-16. Iowa State was able to get the spread down to eight after a Jared Homan putback, and Kansas took a 29-21 lead into the half.

The Cyclones shot a horrid 21.2 percent from the floor and were just 2-for-12 from behind the 3-point line in the first half.

“Obviously, in the first half I thought we had so much adrenaline going it was difficult for us to make shots, and I thought during halftime we calmed down,” Morgan said. “We calmed our offense down and were able to make shots.”

Kansas was able to hold off Iowa State to start the second half, but with 15:30 left, Jackson Vroman threw down a dunk off a Homan miss to cut Kansas’ lead to four at 38-34. A Sullivan three cut the lead to one, 38-37. The Cyclones later tied the game at 40 on a Vroman free throw.

Iowa State was up by six when the 6-foot-2 Stinson blocked the 6-foot-9 Wayne Simien as he went up for a shot with five minutes left. A minute later, Sullivan hit a three that would ignite the crowd and give the Cyclones what was then their biggest lead at 62-53.

Kansas fought back and got the deficit down to three, but a “teardrop” shot sealed the game for Iowa State.

With 32 seconds left and three seconds on the shot clock, Stinson drove down the left baseline and threw up a one-handed floater. It went in, halting the Jayhawks’ rally and putting Iowa State ahead 66-61.

“I knew it was going in before it even left his hand, because he’s done that since I’ve known him,” said freshman guard Will Blalock.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Sullivan pumped his fists in the air, Homan threw the ball toward the ceiling and roars of applause echoed down from the crowd as Iowa State took the 7-point victory.

“It’s a great win for our kids. It’s a great win for our university. It’s a great win for our state,” Morgan said.

Iowa State improved to 13-4 overall and 4-2 in Big 12 play. The win also moves the Cyclones within one spot of first place in the conference. Kansas fell to 13-4 overall, 5-1 in the Big 12.

“I think our defense really kept us in the game in the first half,” Homan said.

“Obviously, we weren’t shooting the ball very well at all, but we kept our heads up and knew that we could come back in the second half because we couldn’t really shoot any worse.”

Stinson ended the game with 19 points and 11 rebounds. He was 1-of-9 from the floor in the first half, but scored 16 in the second.

“First half, I missed some easy shots that I normally make, like my teardrop or whatever,” Stinson said. “Coach just told me, ‘Get in the lane and keep shooting them,’ and once I got in a rhythm, he was just like, ‘Let’s get Curt the ball, let’s run some pick-and-rolls and get some shots.'”

“Curtis is terrific and his basketball IQ is genius,” Morgan said. “It’s like he was made to play basketball.”

Homan finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots. Homan has had 13 blocked shots in two games after missing a 63-59 loss to Baylor Jan. 24 with a sprained ankle.

“[My sprained ankle] has helped me in some respect because it helps me slow down, take my time,” Homan said.

“Sometimes I get going at 100 miles per hour trying to make a play, and if I just slow down and think a little bit, it helps.”

After shooting 2-of-11 in the first half, Sullivan finished with 17 points. Blalock was also a big contributor on offense, dishing out 11 assists with no turnovers in 33 minutes.

“You always have to have your hands up with Will; if you don’t have your hands up, the ball might hit you in the forehead,” said Vroman, who finished with 12 points. “He’s got those long arms and he wraps around passes. He just attracts a lot of attention by penetrating in the lane.”

Morgan said assistant coach Fred Quartlebaum bought a hard hat and a lunch pail that he brings to practice everyday to help his players’ work ethic.

“When we went into the locker room today before the game, he had the hat and the lunch pail sitting in the middle of the locker room, just saying, ‘You guys got to be like construction workers, just come in and work hard’. So, that’s what we try to do,” Morgan said.