The Iowa State men’s basketball team captured the Cyclone Challenge championship with a couple of very contrasting contests.

In the tournament’s first game against North Texas, ISU started a bit slow before coming up with a 72-45 rout of the Mean Green.

The first half saw the Cyclones being “outcompeted,” said Coach Larry Eustachy, as the Cyclones were leading 22-18 with 6:16 left in the first half.

Eustachy then called a 20 second time-out, and his team responded by finishing the half on a 12-7 run to give the ‘Clones a 34-25 lead at the break.

ISU was lead by Marcus Fizer, who dominated the smaller and weaker Mean Green to the tune of 14 points and four rebounds.

The second half began much like the first, as the Mean Green moved within eight points at 38-30 a minute into the half.

The Cyclones then responded by going on a 7-0 run that left little doubt who the winner would be.

ISU kept extending the lead for the rest of the game, as it became apparent that North Texas was not all that interested in giving its best effort after the outcome was decided.

A big negative for the Cyclones occurred when Martin Rancik, the club’s second-leading scorer, rolled his ankle in the second half.

Eustachy later said the ankle was not broken, but Rancik would be out at least another week.

The Cyclones were lead by Fizer, who scored a game-high 24 points, and Paris Corner, who continued his solid play at the point guard position with 10 points.

The 27 point shellacking was ISU’s second biggest win of the year, and the reserved and rather pessimistic Eustachy still was not all that impressed with his club.

“Our team is just not much right now. We had a lot of moments of real poor basketball. We’re just plodding along right now. We’re trying to build something here, and the guys have the right attitude. But we’re just real limited,” Eustachy said.

The subject of the injuries was one that the coach addressed as well.

“I think snakebit is a pretty accurate description. We are depleted right now to say the least, and we’re going to have to keep plugging away.”

Fizer agreed with his coach on the subject of the team’s first half play.

“We came out, and everyone from coaches to players to fans could tell that we were being outcompeted. So we went in and just decided to go out there and do our best, and it showed,” Fizer said.

The next game, coming against Western Illinois, arrived with a big surprise, as point guard Michael Nurse was sporting warm-ups and looking good in the pregame.

Nurse, who had been hit by a truck only six days earlier, had told reporters the night before that he could be out until the conference season.

The game began with Rancik in street clothes, Nurse on the bench and the Cyclones somehow playing well.

With the game only a little over two minutes old, ISU was leading 7-2, and the Cyclones appeared as though they were carrying the momentum that they had forged in the second half of the night before.

However, the Leathernecks then collapsed middle and when ISU couldn’t hit an outside jumper, the rest of the half was controlled by WIU.

The Cyclones ended the half down 31-22, and with very little hope of turning the game around.

The numbers clearly showed the dominance of the Leathernecks in the first half.

ISU shot 7-23 in the first half, while WIU hit at a 55 percent clip.

Leathernecks point guard Brandon Creason was 4-6 from three-point range en route to 12 points, while ISU was led by Fizer, who tallied eight points despite the suffocating defense.

The second half began in much the same fashion, as Western increased its lead to 13 with 17 minutes left.

Then point guard Nurse entered the game, and at first it looked as though he would not be a difference-maker.

The Leathernecks increased their lead to 21 with 16 minutes left before ISU, behind their gutsy point guard, would make the biggest comeback in ISU history.

It started with a 6-0 run that cut the lead to 15 with 13:33 left. The teams then traded baskets before Nurse scored 11 points in four minutes to cut the deficit to eight points with 8:03 to play.

When Geoff Alexander got a rebound basket with less than five minutes left to give WIU a 59-47 lead, it appeared the valiant Cyclone effort would be nullified.

However, ISU continued to scratch and claw its way back into the game.

When Rodney Hampton hit his second three-pointer in as many minutes, ISU was down only two at 62-60 with 1:07 to play.

Creason then missed a lay-up, and after a Nurse turnover, Klay Edwards tied up a WIU player, and the jump ball went to ISU.

A brilliant inbounds play left Fizer open under the basket, and the sensational sophomore converted to tie the game with 29 seconds left.

WIU then put the ball in the hands of the man that had gotten them there, but Creason missed a 25-foot jumper from the top of the key, and as the Hilton crowd erupted, overtime would be needed to decide the contest.

The Cyclones came out and controlled the session from the opening tap, as Fizer put in a shot just 8 seconds in to the extra session.

Strong free throw shooting down the stretch keyed the way to the exciting victory, as ISU put in 12 of 15 shots in OT.

Stevie Johnson led the way with seven points in overtime, including a spectacular dunk to provide the proverbial exclamation point on a great win.

The Cyclones were led by Fizer again, who ended up with 21 points and nine rebounds, and Nurse, whose courageous 16 point performance included four three-pointers.

“Nurse was sensational. We probably didn’t deserve to win the game, but you have to give our guys credit for hanging in there, and making the plays necessary to win,” Eustachy said.

Fizer, the Challenge MVP, was not satisfied with the win or his performance.

“I know we can do a lot better as a team. And even though I had 24 points last night, and 21 tonight, I am disgusted with the way I played.”

Hilton Magic was in full effect throughout the night, and that fact was not lost on the coaches or players.

“I got my first taste of Hilton Magic tonight,” Eustachy said. “The crowd won that game for us.”

“They were totally behind us even when we were down. They really pumped us up and kept us going,” Lee Love said.

The lone senior on the club also recognized the great advantage that ISU possesses on its home court.

“The crowd was great again. They always get real loud in close games, and tonight was no exception. It was really loud out there,” Edwards said.

The Cyclones will hope for a little more Magic when they face Drake at home on Tuesday, before going to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes.