Dedric Willoughby wasn’t supposed to play a major role in the second half of No. 11 Iowa State’s 77-67 victory over Nebraska on Wednesday night.

The senior guard, who is recovering from a hamstring injury that kept him out of two games, had scored 13 points as the Cyclones took a 33-26 halftime lead. After he hit a 3-pointer with 18:12 remaining, Iowa State was up 39-26 and seemingly on its way to an easy victory.

”I felt real stiff. But they said I needed to be out there to keep our guys pumped up,” Willoughby said. ”I would have rested, but they said go out there and make something happen.”

That something was his sixth 3-pointer of the game which stemmed a Huskers comeback and preserved the win for the Cyclones.

Neither team led by more than three points until Iowa State (14-3, 5-2 Big 12) held the Cornhuskers (11-8, 3-4) scoreless over the final five minutes of the first half.

Willoughby, who finished with 21 points, hit a 3-pointer to put Iowa State up 27-26 with 4:37 remaining in the first half, then nailed another long-range shot a minute later. Shawn Bankhead hit his first 3 of the season to beat the buzzer and put the Cyclones up 33-26 at halftime.

Iowa State kept the lead at double figures until the nine-minute mark. That’s when Nebraska point guard Tyronn Lue finally broke loose from the Cyclones’ box-and-one defense to trigger a comeback, scoring seven points in an 11-5 run that pulled Nebraska within 61-57.

”They had three people following me around the whole game,” Lue said. ”If I had to play like this every game, it would wear me down.”

Nebraska’s zone defense forced a long shot from Kenny Pratt to beat the 35-second clock, but the rebound hit a Husker, bounced out of bounds and Willoughby nailed the last of his six 3-pointers to turn back the threat.

”We had a play designed to go inside, but they gave me a step or two on the defense,” Willoughby said of his shot. ”That gave me a real good look. And I thought if I hit the others tonight, why not that one, that time.”

Iowa State outscored Nebraska 16-10 over the last three minutes, hitting 11 of 12 free throws.

Iowa State was almost that hot from the field, hitting 72 percent in the second half.

”I thought it was a real good win for us, but it was not a typical ISU win,” Iowa State coach Tim Floyd said. ”I thought we made every shot we took. It was like a horse game. We ran down the floor and made every shot.”

Pratt led the Cyclones with 22 points, while Jacy Holloway added 14.

Lue, who had just two points at halftime, finished with 17 to lead Nebraska. Mikki Moore had 13 points and 15 rebounds as the Huskers outrebounded the Cyclones 40-19.

”The key is when Nebraska shoots five free throws and Iowa State shoots 25,” Huskers coach Danny Nee said. ”That speaks very loudly.”

The Cyclones will now gear up for a tough test at College Station, Texas in the Texas A & M Aggies. Th Cyclones will make the travel to the lone star state to attempt to keep their two-game conference winning streak alive.

The Cyclones will have their hands full with senior point guard Tracey Anderson, who averaged 13.3 points per game and 3.5 rebounds. Not too shabby for a 6 foot 2 inch, 185 pound frame.

“Without a doubt, Tracey is the toughest kid on the team. He played all of last season with a severely strained groin,” said Texas A & M Head Basketball Coach Tony Baron. Holloway will have the assignment of shutting down Anderson.

The other big gun for A&M is 6 foot 9 inch Dario Quesada who averaged 11 points per game last season while hauling in nearly six rebounds per game.

The final weapon for the Aggies is senior guard Derrick Hart, who despite being only 5 feet, 8 inches tall averaged 13.1 points per game last season.

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.