DES MOINES – Freshman guard Lindell Wigginton had five points at the end of the first half. He shot 1-for-5 and couldn’t hit the 3-pointer with a 0-for-2 performance from behind the arc. The Cyclones were trailing the Northern Iowa Panthers 33-30 going into halftime.

Then, in the second half, Wigginton hit a lay-up with 12:10 left in the game and it created a spark that Iowa State needed at that moment. A spark that led Iowa State to a 76-65 win over Northern Iowa and extended the Cyclones’ winning streak to eight.

“[Lindell Wigginton] provided a spark when he came out in the second half,” said guard Nick Weiler-Babb. “He played 40 minutes, so that has to say something right there. He’s holding the team together.”

That lay-up was only the beginning for Wigginton in the second half as he scored nine of the next 11 points for Iowa State after that lay-up. He helped the Cyclones get on a 12-0 run from the 10:16 mark to the 7:41 mark in the second half.

The run from Iowa State extended its lead to seven points and the team wouldn’t look back. Wigginton was the only player to play a full 40 minutes tonight, but coach Steve Prohm couldn’t pull him out with the second half performance he was putting on at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.

Wigginton scored 15 points in the second half to make a total of 20 points in the game and went 6-for-7 from the floor in the second half. He also grabbed seven rebounds and had two assists.

“They just kept me confident,” Wigginton said. “They told me to keep shooting the ball and I know I would make my next shot.”

This wasn’t the first time Wigginton showed his dominance in an in-state rival game for Iowa State. He displayed those skills just last week on Dec. 7 against Iowa at Hilton Coliseum when he scored 24 points in the 84-78 win over the Hawkeyes.

Even though it was a big game for Wigginton, he wasn’t the only one scoring for Iowa State.

“This was a terrific team win for us today,” Prohm said. “I thought that everybody contributed today.”

Opening statement from Steve Prohm after the win over Northern Iowa. #Cyclones pic.twitter.com/G9lE6LpkCK

— Aaron Marner (@A_Mar32) December 16, 2017

The Cyclones had five players reach double digits in points, which showed that it wasn’t an individual effort, but rather a team win. Wigginton led Iowa State with 20 points, but Weiler-Babb finished with 15 points, while Jeff Beverly, Donovan Jackson and Cameron Lard all finished with 10 points each.

Weiler-Babb was one rebound shy of completing a double-double, while also contributing four assists and one steal. Besides the three main guards for Iowa State, Prohm said he needed help from his post players from the 3-point line.

“I told one of the coaches, this is a game because of how they guard middle ball screens and pick and rolls,” Prohm said. “Between Hans [Brase] and Jeff [Beverly], we need those guys to go 3-for-5.”

That strategy worked well for Iowa State as Beverly went 2-for-2 from the 3-point line and Brase went 1-for-4. That’s a combined 3-for-6 and a 50 percent shooting from behind the arc. Along with those two post players, Solomon Young also contributed with a three of his own, going 1-for-2 from the 3-point line.

Beverly hadn’t made a 3-pointer all season long and to start the game against Northern Iowa tonight, he threw up a 3-pointer. The ball went through the net and Iowa State took an early 3-0 lead to start the game.

Even though Beverly made that shot in the first half, the Cyclones shot 32.4 percent from the field in the first half. That percentage increased tremendously in the second half as Iowa State shot 58.3 percent, making it a 43.1 percentage for the entire game.

This has been the common theme throughout this eight-game winning streak, but Prohm doesn’t think of his team as a second half team.

“I think it’s overstated. I’d love to be a first half and second half team,” Prohm said. “We got an offensive spurt [in the second half] and that was the difference in the game.”

Prohm said this was the best win for Iowa State this season because it happened tonight and because of the RPI of Northern Iowa. The Panthers have beaten teams like SMU, North Carolina State and UNLV. The strength of Northern Iowa’s schedule shows how big of a win this was for the Cyclones.

Iowa State still has one more game left before the team takes a break for Christmas and the Big 12 season starts, so Prohm said the team can’t be done quite yet. They need to be focused and ready to play Maryland Eastern Shore on Dec. 20 at Hilton Coliseum.

“This was a big win for us,” Prohm said. “We just need to keep that focus and drive for next week’s game.”