It was a battle between the bottom of the Big 12 conference Saturday night between Iowa State and Kansas State Saturday night, two teams with the exact same records (9-13, 2-7 Big 12).

Iowa State and Kansas State came in tied with each other in the Big 12 standings, with both teams combining for six straight losses coming into Saturday’s matchup.

Iowa State would hold on to grab its third conference win 73-63 over Kansas State.

Despite both teams sharing similar losing records, Iowa State established its dominance early. But even after Iowa State put its foot down on the Wildcats to start, it would prove to be a fight all the way to the end. 

Solomon Young made his presence felt right from the start, scoring Iowa State’s first points of the night. After Kansas State Coach Bruce Weber called timeout with 16 minutes left in the first half, Young had already put together eight points, two steals and a block.

The Cyclones led 21-2 with 12:04 minutes left in the first half with Kansas State shooting 0-11 from the field to start.

The Cyclones kept up the intensity and held at least a 15 point lead for a majority of the first half, holding Kansas State to 9-29 shooting.

The Cyclones lost its 15 or more margin as it walked into the locker room with a 37-28 lead, thanks to a Kansas State 12-0 run in the final 5:38 in the first half.

The run to end the half would continue for mini stretches in the second half, with Tyrese Haliburton sitting most of the second half due to injury. After being down as much as 21, Kansas State would take advantage of multiple turnovers by the Cyclones and would cut it to a 52-48 Iowa State lead with 7:54 left.

Iowa State would get big baskets from Prentiss Nixon and Terrence Lewis down the final moments to avoid the loss.

Young wrapped up his night with a team-leading 20 points, three rebounds, four steals and two blocks in his 23 minutes of action. This comes after Young shot 0-8 with no points and two rebounds against West Virginia on Wednesday.

Tyrese Haliburton had himself another efficient shooting night, finishing with nine points. Haliburton shot from 3-6 deep, connecting on three of Iowa State’s five three pointers in the first half. He also added four rebounds and three assists to his busy stat-line

Haliburton went down after blocking a layup with less than a minute left in the first half, but was able to walk to the locker room at halftime. He would return and then at 13:46 he subbed himself out for Terrence Lewis. Haliburton would not return the rest of the night.

Iowa State returns to action Wednesday on the road in Norman, Oklahoma, to take on the Oklahoma Sooners at 8 p.m.