The ISU men’s basketball team won two games over Thanksgiving break in strikingly different fashions.

The Cyclones opened the regular season last Tuesday by escaping with a 102-97 victory over Morningside, a Division II school. Friday, the Cyclones bounced back by cruising to a 109-70 win over Texas Southern.

The two wins in Hilton Coliseum brings the Cyclones home winning streak to a school-record tying 22 games.

The streak is the sixth best in the nation.

The Cyclones controlled the first half of Tuesday’s victory over Morningside, but the Mustangs rallied and tied the game on a last second shot.

In overtime, it was the Mustangs who took the lead before the Cyclones rallied for the win.

“I thought that was one of the better games, and I’m going on 11 years as a head coach, I’ve been a part of,” said ISU men’s basketball coach Larry Eustachy. “That goes in my top five, as far as excitement, change of momentum and the opponent not letting up.

“It was an unbelievable team effort by Morningside, and we shouldn’t have won the game. We didn’t deserve to. They got every loose ball, they hit the shots, and you can give this one to the Hilton magic. The fans got us going when we really needed it.”

Martin Rancik powered the ISU effort with 32 points, including a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line. Rancik went 9-of-12 from the floor and grabbed 10 rebounds.

“[Rancik] scored 32, but he might have given up 48,” Eustachy said.

The Cyclones opened up an 80-67 lead with under five minutes left in the game but the Mustangs caught up with a 21-8 run to close the game.

Kantrail Horton sank one of two free throws with 14.4 seconds left to put the Cyclones ahead 88-85.

The Mustangs forced overtime when Justin Van Meeteren drilled a three-pointer with four seconds left.

The Mustangs burned the Cyclones with a barrage of three-pointers. The Mustangs hit 18 shots from long range, a Hilton Coliseum record.

“We were well aware that they could shoot like that,” Eustachy said. “They’re all shooters, every one of them. Usually we key on one, but they all could shoot so they were difficult to guard.”

In overtime, the Mustangs took a 97-94 lead, but the Cyclones clawed back and finished the game with eight free throws for the five-point win.

Jamaal Tinsley added 20 points while Horton added 14.

Paul Shirley and Brandon Hawkins also cracked double figures with 13 and 12 points respectively.

Derek Paben paced the Mustangs with 24 points, including five three-pointers. Dusty Wadlington poured in 18 points, and Andrew Drevo tallied 13.

Friday, the Cyclones had little trouble routing Texas Southern. The Cyclones built a 52-36 halftime lead and never looked back.

Rancik was the Cyclone’s go-to guy offensively, finishing with a team-high 21 points. Shirley also had a solid game in the post with 14 points and seven boards.

The Cyclones got solid showings off the bench from junior college transfer Tyray Pearson and freshman Jake Sullivan. Pearson collected 15 points and nine rebounds, while Sullivan scored 13 points and connected on 3-of-4 three-pointers.

The Cyclones are hoping to improve to 3-0 on the season tonight against Northern Iowa at the UNI-Dome.

The Cyclones have been powered by balanced scoring and solid rebounding.

Six different ‘Clones are averaging double figures, and the Cyclones have outrebounded their first two opponents by a 55.5-32.5 margin.