A warning to Cyclone basketball fans: Don’t put away the Maalox and Pepcid-AC you frequently used during the last two seasons. With a narrow victory over the Texas-Arlington Mavericks on Saturday, this year looks to be another filled with gut-wrenching games.

Hampered by poor shooting throughout the game, Iowa State finally managed to hit from the floor and the free-throw line in the games’ waning moments to hand the Mavericks a 66-58 loss. The win evened the Cyclones’ season record at 1-1.

Although the win wasn’t pretty, it’s one the young Cyclones and Coach Tim Floyd will take. “Well, we got one,” Floyd said. “I wasn’t sure that we’d be able to get any after last Sunday.”

ISU’s offense, which struggled in its season-opening loss to UNI, continued its shooting woes early against Texas-Arlington Mavericks but still managed to lead halftime.

After a time-out with 3:01 left in the first stanza, the Cyclones played inspired ball and scored the half’s final 10 points to turn a three-point deficit into a seven-point advantage.

The Cyclones were aided by UTA’s 29 percent shooting in the first half. However, ISU hit on only 31 percent of its attempts. At the half, the Cyclones led 24-17.

Despite being outsized, the Mavericks hung in throughout the game. Whenever the Cyclones appeared to gain momentum, UTA fought back. And because they continued to fight back, UTA took the lead and held on through much of the game’s late stages.

But the Cyclones finally took control of the see-saw battle with 1:50 left on the clock. Klay Edwards’ tip-in put ISU ahead 57-55.

After dismal free-throw shooting earlier, the Cyclones netted their last five attempts from the charity stripe to post the victory. With less than a second left, a Marcus Fizer break-away slam capped the comeback.

Fizer led the Cyclones down the stretch and finished with team-highs in points with 20 and rebounds with 10, recording his first regular season double-double.

Klay Edwards finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Stevie Johnson ended the game with 11 points.

ISU dominated the boards on the night, hauling in 48, including 23 on the offensive end. The Mavericks managed only 32 total rebounds.

The Cyclones shot 41 percent for the game, one percent lower than UTA’s percentage.

As intriguing as the close final score was, so was the amount of playing time the several ISU players did not see. ISU’s trio of freshman point guards Paris Corner, Lee Love and Lamont Sides didn’t even hit the hardwood on Saturday night. Neither did ISU center Tony Rampton.

Senior Matt Knoll handled the bulk of the point position’s duties, seeing 30 minutes of action. His free throws in the game’s final minute helped seal the Cyclone victory. He had two three-pointers and eight points on the night.

Walk-on Marcus Clark nabbed 10 minutes on the court as the point-man.

All week, Knoll had been seeing extended practice time, but he admitted he didn’t expect to log as many minutes as he did.

“I knew I’d get my chance, and I just wanted to play well,” he said.

Knoll said the Cyclones never should have been in the position to lose the game, but either way, “It’s still a ‘W.’ We’ll take it.”

“We needed that bad,” he said. “It’s going to make this team want to keep working hard because now we know what it feels like to win.”

Center Jared Hiple led four Mavericks in double figures with 16 points. Donald Harris had 13, Bill Washington 12 and Scott Cross netted 10.

Floyd complimented the Mavericks’ spirited play, especially on the defensive end. Even though Floyd said the team has a long way to go, much can be taken from the game. “We won a close game and we didn’t beat ourselves,” he said.

The game featured the debut of freshman forward Martin Rancik, who returned from a leg injury to hit for four points and corral four rebounds.

“It feels good to get it over with,” Rancik said. “I was really nervous. When the game went on I felt more and more comfortable.

“This is going to give us confidence for the future,” he said.

The Cyclones face Arkansas-Pine Bluff Tuesday night at 7 p.m.