Solomon Young didn’t have phenomenal stats on Saturday afternoon.

But what the freshman forward did in his first career start solved one of Iowa State’s lingering problems this season. Coach Steve Prohm has now found his big man.

Iowa State (15-9, 7-5 Big 12) beat Oklahoma (8-16, 2-10 Big 12) 80-64 at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday, rebounding after a tight loss last week at Texas. And a lot of the credit to the win can be attributed to Young.

“I thought he was awesome,” guard Naz Mitrou-Long said. “He did a lot of things that wouldn’t show up on the stat sheet. Getting his hands up, walling up when guys were driving to the basket, just a bunch of things. I thought he was awesome knocking down his jumper. It was a great opportunity for him, and I definitely feel like he seized the moment.”

Young finished the game with eight points, shooting 4-of-5 from the field. He picked up two rebounds and had two blocks, and held Oklahoma center Khadeem Lattin to just seven points.

Sure, others finished ahead of him in the box score. Mitrou-Long dropped 23 points. Monté Morris finished with 13 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Matt Thomas added 13 points, shooting 4-of-5 from behind the arc.

It was Young, though, who had one of the biggest impacts on the game. And after seeing how he held it down in his 22 minutes of playing time, Prohm said he expects Young to stay in the starting lineup going forward.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for me to get out there and get more time and do more for the team,” Young said. “So I think I’m in a good situation right now.”

Prohm said he decided to start Young after watching film from Iowa State’s loss on Tuesday at Texas, saying that he thought that was what was “best for the team.”

That, and senior Merrill Holden — who had been in the starting lineup — suffered a concussion at practice on Friday. While Prohm was adamant that wasn’t why Young got the nod, it was was why Holden didn’t see any action on Saturday.

As for how he played, though, Young’s answer was simple.

“I think I played pretty well,” Young said. “I played hard, the best I could. So I’m happy with that.”

The biggest thing Prohm has wanted to see from his post players all season is to simply run from rim to rim and grab rebounds. He hasn’t needed incredible offensive production from any of them, but rather someone who can hold their own and limit other Big 12 centers.

Prohm said Young did exactly what he needed to Saturday.

“I think he’s gotten a feel to where he knows what he needs to do for us,” Prohm said. “And then he scored around the basket… That was good to see.”

Young, who was the first freshman to start for Iowa State since the 2013-14 season, started with four seniors. While they appreciate the production value Young brings to the table right now — and hope it leads to a strong finish in the final month of conference play — Mitrou-Long said the experience Young is getting now is extremely valuable for the future.

“It’s not only good for us now with him producing like this, but for the future,” Mitrou-Long said. “Coach always talks about foundation, and these are the types of games and opportunities where you really build, grow and learn. He’s going to have his ups and downs, but I definitely think he’s a great piece to the future of Cyclone basketball.”

Iowa State now sits alone in fourth place in the Big 12 standings with just six games to go until the Big 12 Championship starts on March 8.

Sure, a lot of how the Cyclones finish the season depends on how Young and the rest of Iowa State’s post players can perform.

But Young isn’t stressing about it. He said he’s staying levelheaded and sticking to the advice his team gave him before his first start: just have fun.

“Yeah, I’m having fun,” Young chuckled after the game.