LINCOLN, Neb. — It has been said that the difference between good teams and bad is the ability to win on the road.

Wednesday night in Lincoln, Iowa State took a big step forward in being considered a good team.

The Cyclones, behind 26 points by Marcus Fizer, beat Nebraska 66-65 for their first conference road win in nearly a year.

Iowa State was able to hang on and win despite missing five of six free throws down the stretch. Nebraska’s Larry Florence missed two shots from the field after guard Michael Nurse came up empty on two free throw attempts with 10.7 seconds left in the game.

Fizer, who scored 16 of his points in the first half, saw his touches greatly reduced when Nebraska switched to a zone defense for the second half.

However, it was defense that allowed ISU to win this one before 8,717 largely comatose fans.

“I’m so proud of our guys. Both teams competed really hard. They both deserved to win, and I’m glad we came out of it on top,” Larry Eustachy said.

The Cyclones took a 35-27 lead into halftime on the strength of an 11-0 run that never could have been accomplished a year ago.

Nurse started out the run with a three-pointer from the corner to put the Cyclones up 27-24 with 3:07 left in the contest. After an Nebraska miss, point guard Jamaal Tinsley gave Fizer a beautiful lead pass that the big man threw down for a dunk.

The next time down the floor, Fizer scored on an offensive rebound.

Following a steal by Nurse, Tinsley got a breakaway lay-up. After a steal and block by Fizer, Nurse again made good on a driving lay-up, and in the space of only 2:10, the Cyclones had opened up an 11-0 run.

After the Cyclones opened up a 42-35 lead with 14:07 left in the game, Nebraska made an 11-2 run of its own that got the Huskers back in the game to stay.

Down the stretch, both teams struggled shooting the ball from both the field and the line, and defense was the difference in this one.

“Defense is always the emphasis, but especially now that we’re on the road. It was an ugly win, but a good win,” Nurse said.

The ability of Nebraska to keep Fizer’s production limited in the second half was critical for the Huskers.

“He’s a load down low, and we always try to get him touches. They did a nice job adjusting defensively, but he still got his points,” Eustachy said.

Fizer wasn’t too upset that he wasn’t able to get the ball more in the second half. “I’m never really frustrated out there when I don’t get the ball because I trust my other teammates to take good shots,” he said.

With the Cyclones up 63-62, Fizer grabbed a big rebound and laid the ball in to give Iowa State a two-point lead with 1:17 remaining.

Stevie Johnson, who finished the game with six points and three rebounds, made what could have been a critical mistake while he fouled Danny Walker when he was attempting a three-point shot. However, Walker, an 81 percent free throw shooter, missed two of the three freebies, and the lead was still three with 25 seconds left.

After Nurse turned the ball over for the sixth time of the game, Kimani Friend made both free throws to cut the lead to one. That’s when Nurse missed his pair of free throws, and the game came down to Florence, whom Eustachy called Nebraska’s “best player.”

He drove the lane and missed the first shot badly. The rebound was tipped out, and Florence took an off-balanced leaner that missed as the buzzer sounded.

Nebraska was led by Florence, who scored 18 points on 6-of-18 shooting.

Now the Cyclones will go back home to face Colorado on Sunday afternoon with confidence at an all-time high.

“We knew it was a tough situation coming in here,” Fizer said. “People have been talking about how we only have this record cause we were at home, but I think we proved a point. We have to keep it up because it’s all going to be tough now that we’re in the conference.”

—Cyclone Report—

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Marcus Fizer.

The ISU standout scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Not much question here. Larry Florence had the chance to win the game for Nebraska, but missed two shots in the span of three seconds, and Nebraska was sent home with a loss.

STAT SHEET

ISU held Nebraska to 39 percent shooting from the field as the Huskers went 23-of-59, including 3-of-13 from the three-point line.

OFF THE BENCH

Once again, Paul Shirley came up big, scoring 10 points and grabbing six rebounds.

NEXT GAME

Colorado Buffaloes (9-5, 0-2) at Iowa State Cyclones (14-2, 2-0).

1:00 p.m. Sunday.

Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa.

BROADCASTS

TV: WOI, Channel 5.

Radio: 1430 KASI, Cyclone Radio Network.

BUFFALO UPDATE

Struggling on the road at 1-4, Colorado will limp into Ames after a 100-86 beating at the hands of mediocre Missouri in Columbia. Jamahl Mosley scored 22 in the losing cause and Jaquay Walls added 18 and seven assists.