Although Iowa State freshman forward Marcus Fizer scored eight points in the first three minutes of the second half of the Cyclones’ 85-70 victory over the Yugoslavian Select team Sunday, it was his diving save minutes later that brought the Hilton crowd to their feet.

Fizer made the save following back-to-back dunks by Paul Shirley and Brad Johnson and looked up to see a standing ovation from the Hilton Coliseum crowd.

“I love Hilton Magic,” Fizer said after the game. “You love the crowd, they pump you up and get you into the game.”

Fizer said the diving save was a result of some advice Coach Tim Floyd has given him since the team began practice two weeks ago.

“Coach Floyd told me the ball is very valuable and you need to value the ball on every possession, and whenever the ball is open and free, I’m going to get it,” Fizer said.

Fizer finished Sunday’s game with a team-high 19 points. He shot 7-for-13 from the field and was 5-for-8 from the free throw line.

Clocking 20 minutes in the game, Fizer also had his first double-double, snagging another team-high with 13 rebounds.

“I thought he was very aggressive today, and we’re going to have to build on that because he’s going to have to be even more aggressive as we get into conference play,” Floyd said following the game.

“He doesn’t play like a freshman. He has great talent. He’s going to be a great player.”

A key strength in Fizer’s play, Floyd said, is that he has the ability to play both inside and outside.

“Right now we have him locked into learning an inside position because he has to learn something first,” Floyd explained. “But as Marcus progresses, when he becomes a sophomore or a junior, we will allow him to step out on the floor.”

Fizer’s interior offensive and defensive skills at the power forward position will give the Cyclone team a strength it has been without in recent years, Floyd said.

“I think that is another positive with this team — that when we throw the ball inside, it appears that we are going to make baskets,” he said. “A year ago, it was constantly an event trying to solve match-up problems with Kenny Pratt.”

Fizer is one of eight players listed as a forward on the Cyclone roster. Sophomore Stevie Johnson and junior Klay Edwards started in the frontcourt Sunday.

Fizer entered the game as a power forward and played only six minutes in the first half. He started the second half and scored on the team’s first three possessions.

“I sat down [during halftime], and I thought about what I can do to help the team more and what the team can do to help each other,” Fizer said.

“I have to give credit to my teammates, the guards and Paul [Shirley]. They got me the ball a lot down in the post. That’s what gave me the chance to have a good game.”

As far as halftime advice from Floyd, Fizer said his coach told him to stay calm and play like he had been in practice.

“I was comfortable with that group, we didn’t start, which wasn’t a big factor, but we got out there and had to kind of pick it up a little because we were dying at the beginning. We got the job done,” Fizer said.

Fizer’s second shot in the second half, and arguably his most impressive, was a dunk on which he was fouled by Yugoslavia’s Ranko Stevovic but still completed the shot.

“I don’t think anything about showcasing,” Fizer said about the dunk. “That was high school, I’m on a totally different level now.”