Jake Sullivan had 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting and Jared Homan cleaned up the boards with the game on the line to help Iowa State get its second conference win 74-70 over Baylor Saturday.

The Cyclones (12-6, 2-5 Big 12) used a 9-0 run, including a big three-pointer by Tim Barnes, to get some breathing room after the Bears (9-8, 0-6) had clawed back into the game.

Sullivan, who went 1-for-10 and scored just six points in the loss to Oklahoma State Wednesday, was on fire in the second half. The sharp-shooting junior took seven shots after halftime — including three three-pointers — and made every one of them. He was also a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes.

“Without him, we’re not close tonight,” ISU head coach Larry Eustachy said. “He really played well. He really stepped it up.”

Homan, who went to the bench with his fourth foul 10 seconds into the second half, was a key part of the late ISU rally with five points and five rebounds before fouling out with 1:30 left.

“We don’t win the game without Jared at the end,” Eustachy said. “He came up huge.”

Homan had been sitting for nearly 14 minutes in the second half before returning to action. Sullivan said it’s not easy for a player jump right into the mix after being out so long.

“That’s complete and total toughness,” Sullivan said. “To be in foul trouble and be out of the rhythm all night and to come in and execute like he did those last six or seven minutes, hats off to him. He’s a big reason we won.”

Homan said Eustachy was getting him prepared before he went back in the game.

“Coach came by me about a minute before I went in and said ‘Homan, you’ve got to get in there and help us win that game,'” Homan said. “I was really down on myself for getting those fouls and not being able to help the team. So, when I got in there, I really tried to make an impact to try and turn this game around because I couldn’t handle a loss right now, especially with the way I had played.

“I was fresh and ready to go. I knew I needed to help this team any way I could.”

But it was Sullivan who matched several of Baylor’s three-pointers in the second half. After Sullivan gave Iowa State a 10-point lead — its biggest of the night — with a three from the right wing, Baylor’s R. T. Guinn knocked down a trey of his own and was fouled by Jackson Vroman. Guinn converted the 4-point play to bring the Bears back within six at 40-34.

Sullivan canned another three with 12:35 left that started a flurry of back-and-fourth basketball. Carlton Dotson answered Sullivan with a shot from beyond the arc, but Sullivan responded again, swishing a shot with a toe on the three-point line while being fouled. He made the free throw to put Iowa State up by six.

Kenny Taylor made a three-pointer on Baylor’s next possession, but Sullivan trumped him as well when he drained a fall-away three-point shot to give Iowa State a 53-47 advantage.

But after Tim Barnes extended the lead to eight points, Baylor would make its move. Even as Eustachy jumped and swung his arms, urging his team to be tough defensively, the Bears went on 10-0 run.

The spurt started with a desperation bomb as the shot clock expired by Ellis Kidd from the edge of the Cyclone logo near mid-court. The estimated 40-foot shot swished through, and the ISU faithful let out a collective sigh.

Taylor, who finished with 20 points and made four of Baylor’s 10 three-pointers, scored the next five points to tie the game at 55. Baylor took a 3-point lead with 6:18 left on a three from Dotson, but Homan re-entered the game for the Cyclones and helped erase any thoughts the Bears had of picking up their first conference win.

After going 1-6 in January, Iowa State is still undefeated this month. Sullivan said it’s a relief to be on the winning side again.

“Hopefully the curse is broken,” Sullivan said. “People were hitting half-court shots and I was just thinking there must some kind of curse on us in the Big 12 right now, but hopefully we’ve broken it. We’re real confident and we honestly believe we can win the next nine games. That’s our goal.”