The Big 12 is a league of parity.

This was shown once again as Iowa State, which had looked horrible in losing three games in a row, traveled to Nebraska and almost knocked off the Huskers, who had won nine of 10 games.

Iowa State came up short, 59-57, but also came out of Lincoln with a number of positives.

There was Michael Nurse, who hit four second-half three-pointers on the way to 15 points.

There was the toughness shown in the second half when it appeared the ‘Clones were on their way to yet another easy loss on the road.

And there was the return of the Klay Edwards that Cyclone fans have been missing all year.

“I was real proud of our guys. We were the tougher team today. I thought by their comments they took us lightly, and we went out and fought hard,” coach Larry Eustachy said.

The Cyclones came out of the gates strongly, something they certainly could not accomplish in their last appearance on ESPN when they fell in a quick 7-0 hole against Missouri on Monday night.

After Marcus Fizer hit a fadeaway jumper with 4:17 left, the Cyclones were down only two at 20-18.

However, Nebraska countered with a 10 -3 run to close the half, and the Huskers had a 30-21 lead at the break.

The second half began on a dangerous note for Iowa State. After Andy Markowski hit a layup with 17:12 to go, the Huskers were up 12 at 35-23, and the sellout crowd at the Devaney Center was ready to declare the Cyclones dead.

That’s when Michael Nurse, as he has before, stepped up.

The junior point guard nailed two three-pointers on consecutive possessions after Martin Rancik hit a jumper, and suddenly the Cyclones were right back in the game, trailing only 35-31.

The game was tight the rest of the way, as both teams struggled to find any type of rhythm offensively.

Big 12 leading scorer Marcus Fizer struggled against formidable opponent Venson Hamilton.

He ended up going 6-21 from the floor and several times threw up difficult shots with three guys draped all over him.

That’s not to say he didn’t have his share of clutch shots.

With 8:50 left in the game, Fizer got a pass from Nurse and flushed a dunk that brought ISU within four at 45-41.

The rest of the game belonged to some unlikely heroes for both squads.

For the Cyclones, it was Klay Edwards. The fifth-year senior from Morning Sun has been virtually invisible this season, but he stepped it up down the stretch, making five points in the last 5:40 before fouling out.

He also played his customary solid defense while pulling down seven boards.

“I’m really proud of Klay. He’s ending his career in the right way. I talked to him earlier and told him he’s only got 160 minutes of regular season play and to make the most of them,” Eustachy said.

After Edwards put in a shot with 1:40 left to cut the lead to four, Nurse stole the inbounds pass.

However, he missed the layup, and the Cyclones missed an opportunity to cut the lead to two.

After a Nebraska basket extended the lead to six, Nurse again stepped up by hitting a long three with :30 left.

After the squads traded hoops, the Cyclones had a chance to tie the game.

After Chad Johnson missed the front end of a one-and-one, Markowski was able to tip the ball back to Belcher, who sealed the win with two free throws with six seconds left.

Nurse provided some fireworks at the end by hitting a 35-foot three-pointer, but it was too little, too late for the Cyclones.

“We should’ve just went out and took this game. Nobody is going to give us anything, and we should’ve won this game,” Nurse said.

Nebraska was led by Hamilton, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Also in double digits for the Cyclones were Fizer with 13, and Martin Rancik, who added 10 points despite playing with bronchitis.

The Cyclones now return home to face Baylor, who has yet to win a conference game.

---

NEBRASKA 59

IOWA ST. 57

IOWA ST. (13-12)ÿ

Fizer 6-21 1-3 13, S.Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Rancik 5-9 0-0 10, Hampton 3-7 0-0 7, Nurse 5-13 1-1 15, Corner 2-3 0-0 5,

,Edwards 1-3 5-6 7, Rampton 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-59 7-10 57.

NEBRASKA (17-8)ÿ

Florence 1-3 2-3 4, Markowski 5-7 2-2 12, Hamilton 6-17 8-11 20, Holmes 0-1 0-0 0, Belcher 5-10 2-4 14, Cochran 1-6 0-0 2, C.Johnson 0-3 5-8 5, Piatkowski 0-2 0-0 0, Truscott 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 19-51 19-28 59.

Halftime—Nebraska 30, Iowa St. 21. 3-Point goals—Iowa St. 6-15 (Fizer 0-2, Rancik 0-1, Hampton 1-4, Nurse 4-6, Corner 1-1, Rampton 0-1), Nebraska 2-13 (Belcher 2-5, Cochran 0-5, C.Johnson 0-1, Piatkowski 0-2). Fouled out—Iowa St., Edwards. Rebounds—Iowa St. 40 (S.Johnson 8), Nebraska 38 (Hamilton 13). Assists—Iowa St. 10 (S.Johnson 4), Nebraska 13 (Belcher 4). Total fouls—Iowa St. 16, Nebraska 16. Technical fouls—Iowa St., bench. A—13,623.