The Cyclone men’s basketball team is finally starting to come together, taking their second consecutive conference victory and their first on the road in nearly two years.

The Texas A&M Aggies were the Cyclones’ most recent victims, falling to Iowa State, 64-43, in College Station, Texas.

“You’ve got to be happy for our guys,” head coach Larry Eustachy said. “We couldn’t have done this three weeks ago.”

Three weeks ago, ISU didn’t have the unity they seem to have now, but they also didn’t have quite so serious a numbers problem.

The Cyclone roster still sits at just eight men, but they’ve won two in a row after a near miss in Lawrence, Kan.

“We’ve got eight eligible guys left,” Eustachy said. “They’re eight tough guys. The fat’s been cut away from this team.”

Against a very young Aggie team, ISU was suffocating on defense and dominating on the boards.

As usual, Marcus Fizer led the charge, scoring a game-high 22 points and picking up 11 rebounds.

The Cyclones opened a quick 15-7 lead, but allowed A&M to respond with a run that put ISU down 21-19.

Relying on the hot shooting of Fizer and Martin Rancik, the Cyclones reclaimed the lead at the end of the half, 30-27.

However, unlike in recent games, ISU was not flat when they returned for the second half.

“I’ve always asked them to lay it all out for the last 20 minutes,” Eustachy said. “I thought it was a learning process, and we were ready in the second half. That’s just part of growing up.”

Instead of folding as they did against the Sooners and Jayhawks, the Cyclones actually played better after halftime, extending their lead throughout the remainder of the game.

The ISU zone defense held A&M to .304 shooting for the game, including .150 shooting from beyond the arc.

The Cyclones were also able to nullify the Aggies’ biggest offensive threat, Clifton Cook, holding him to just five points in 25 minutes of play.

“We knew where he was in the zone,” Eustachy said. “I thought the zone was good. It bothered them and took time off the clock.”

Among the defensive stars of the game was junior Lamar Gregg, who came off the bench to play 24 minutes of sound, fundamental basketball.

Inside, Stevie Johnson led all players with 13 rebounds, playing before a crowd that included his father, who had made the drive to College Station from Beaumont, Miss.

Michael Nurse chipped in seven boards to go with nine points.

The leading rebounder for the Aggies, who were beaten 42-26 overall, was Aaron Jack who finished the game with six. No other A&M player had more than four rebounds.

“Coach Eustachy feels if you don’t win the rebounding fight, you’re going to lose the game,” Fizer said.

The 21-point win was the biggest conference road margin of victory since Jeff Grayer, Jeff Hornacek, Sam Hill, Gary Thompkins and Ron Virgil beat Colorado 83-57 en route to a Sweet Sixteen finish in 1986.

“I’ve never won a conference game on the road,” Rancik said after the final buzzer. “It feels great, I can tell you that.”

Rancik trailed only Fizer and Shanne Jones of the Aggies with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting.

Jones, the only A&M player to score in double-figures, ended the game with 16.

“We’re starting to come together as a squad,” Nurse said. “Even though we’re struggling with the shot, we’re coming together as a team.”

The Cyclones have a week off before hosting Texas Tech on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum.