MANHATTAN, Kansas — Iowa State sure doesn’t make it look easy

After leading by 16 points at halftime, and by as much as 19 in the first half, the Cyclones saw their lead whittle to under 10 points twice in the second half.

But Iowa State (16-9, 8-5 Big 12) fought off the charging Wildcats (16-10, 5-8 Big 12), winning 87-79 at Manhattan, Kansas, on Wednesday night.

The Cyclones mirrored their start against Oklahoma on Saturday, a game they won comfortably. They made 10 of their first 13 shots and assisted on 10 of their first 11 field goals. They also didn’t commit a foul until the 10:33 mark of the first half. 

With those kind of numbers, it took just under seven minutes for Iowa State to build up a double-digit lead. Freshman Solomon Young, making his second career start, put up a game-high 12 points with five rebounds in the first half while the Cyclones went into halftime with a 42-26 lead. 

Iowa State fans may have been wary heading into the second half with such a big lead. When the Wildcats traveled to Ames earlier this season, Iowa State blew a 17-point lead and barely managed to pull out win.

And the Cyclones failed to quell those doubts.

The Wildcats went on a 12-0 run about a quarter through the second half to cut the Iowa State lead to seven. But the Cyclones, like they’ve had to do many times over the past few years, put an end to the Wildcat runs and managed to grab a win.