A desperately needed win over No. 11 Texas Saturday did not come easy for the ISU men’s basketball team.

It took two missed free throws by the Longhorns’ Brian Boddicker and a couple of missed shots by freshman P. J. Tucker in the game’s final seconds to ice the 78-77 Cyclone victory.

ISU head coach Wayne Morgan said he didn’t know where his heart was during the scrum for the ball after Boddicker’s second missed free throw with five seconds remaining.

“My heart was everywhere,” Morgan said. “I think it just popped out and spread all over my body.”

Even though Texas rebounded the missed free throw and Tucker had two chances to win the game, Morgan said he was glad so see everyone clamor for the ball in that situation.

“I was glad to see [the scramble for the ball], because most of the time when you see that, exactly what happened happens. Time ends up going off while everyone’s bobbling for [the ball],” Morgan said.

Senior Jake Sullivan and Morgan said it took a little luck and help from the deafening Hilton Coliseum crowd for Boddicker, an 81 percent free-throw shooter, to miss both free throws.

“Obviously, he’s a great shooter. Our fans were unbelievable, and they were a big reason Boddicker missed those free throws.” Sullivan said.

“We got a break, there’s no question about that, but we were due for a break.”

“In our big games here, our crowd has basically come out of the stands and on to the floor and breathed new energy into our guys,” Morgan said.

“I would like to have heard what the decibel level was when Boddicker was shooting those free throws. It was loud.”

After leading 44-43 at half time, the game looked bleak for Iowa State at the start of the second half as it made only one field goal in the first nine minutes — falling down by as many as 14 points.

The Cyclones found their shooting touch again with Sullivan leading the way. Sullivan hit a three with 2:14 remaining to give Iowa State a 76-75 lead, its first since the opening of the half.

After two made Texas free throws by James Thomas, Curtis Stinson found Damion Staple in the lane for a dunk with 1:09 remaining, putting the Cyclones up for good.

“I knew they were going to double team me, because when I caught the ball, P.J. fell,” Stinson said.

“So the big man had to help, and when I jumped, Damion was coming down the lane.”

Sullivan said his final three-pointer of the game was the biggest of his career.

“It was the biggest [shot] I’ve made since I’ve been here,” Sullivan said. “I wanted it, and I worked on it. Every day I have one of our managers say ‘3-2-1’ as we leave the gym, and I always pretend I’m shooting against Texas because I missed one my sophomore year against them. Tonight it went in.”

Sullivan led the way for the Cyclones with 24 points, including five three-pointers. Stinson chipped in 18, and Jackson Vroman had 20 points before fouling out with 4:49 left in the game.

“Jackson had a tremendous night.” Morgan said. “All people familiar with us know he’s not a great shooter, but he made three or four fade-away jump shots that really helped us.”

Morgan said his Cyclones were in desperate need of a fresh start after their recent three-game skid, and this game gave them just that.

“We only have eight players on scholarship, and we didn’t make any excuses. We had to go back to the drawing boards, lick our wounds and reinvent ourselves,” Morgan said. “Tonight is what we came up with.”