Cyclones End Huskers' Streak, 52-47

Ames, Iowa - Sophomore Marcus Fizer had a game-high 16 points and six rebounds to lead Iowa State to a 52-47 victory over Nebraska in front of 12,107 fans at the Hilton Coliseum Saturday evening. The loss ended Nebraska's five-game winning streak and dropped the Huskers to 13-8 overall and 5-3 in the Big 12. With the win, ISU improves to 13-8 overall and evens its Big 12 mark at 4-4.

Nebraska led 23-22 at halftime, but struggled from the floor after intermission, hitting just 10 of 27 from the floor (37 percent). Senior center Venson Hamilton paced the Huskers with 12 points and six rebounds, while Cookie Belcher added 10 points. Senior Andy Markowski had eight points, a career-high five assists and four rebounds in a losing effort.

Iowa State's win ended a three-game losing streak to the Huskers dating back to the 1996-97 season. In addition to Fizer's 16, Rodney Hampton added 12 points, five rebounds and four assists and Michael Nurse added eight points and eight assists.

The Huskers return to action this Wednesday, Feb. 3, when the Huskers travel to Boulder to face Colorado. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. (central). The game will be available on the internet at http://huskerwebcast.com

Nebraska at Iowa State Men's Basketball
Game Quotes

Iowa State Head Coach Larry Eustachy: "I thought that was our win to date. I think that's a top 30 team, so that was just a great win. I'm not sure this team isn't the best team in the league. I could tell when they were warming up that they're very determined. I think they could win this league. I thought Fizer did a great job

on Hamilton in the second half. We got really physical on Hamilton. We had fouls to give at the end, and I thought that was great. As a group, we didn't start the game very well. We just didn't look like a team early."

Iowa State's Michael Nurse: "The pressure is on just about the same if Rodney is hitting shots and I'm not. I think there is always pressure no matter what. It feels good to be 4-4 in the conference. This was a huge win for us, maybe the biggest of the year. It was great to see the crowd get into the game, they were a big contributor to this win."

Iowa State's Marcus Fizer: "I think the shot late in the game where I made the shot and was fouled with only a minute left, that could be one of the biggest shots since I've been at Iowa State. I missed the free throw, but was so glad Martin pulled down the rebound. I wanted to play Hamilton hard tonight. In the second half, I was guarding him more than I did in the first half. I decided at halftime if I didn't score another point, I didn't care as long as I played Hamilton with lots of intensity and held his point total to a minimum."

Nebraska Head Coach Danny Nee: "Iowa State did some really good things tonight and they worked very hard. They made some threes at some very important parts of the game. I felt that the tempo was really in the favor of ISU. They did a good job of running the clock down and getting a good shot. They also had some very big offensive rebounds that I felt really affected the game. The press didn't seem to bother them very much, they just kept on making plays when they needed to."

Nebraska's Venson Hamilton: "They played hard tonight and I have to give them credit. We didn't match their intensity. We just have to go home and prepare for CU."

IOWA STATE GAME NOTES
*ISU held Nebraska 27 points below their Big 12 average (74.7). At home, ISU has limited its 11 opponents to just 52.5 points per game. The Cyclones shot 50.0percent from the field in the second half. In their last game vs. Colorado, the Cyclones hit just 26.9 percent after the intermission.

*Michael Nurse recorded a career-high eight assists, while Hampton drained a career-high four three-pointers. ISU improved on its Big 12 leading free-throw percentage, hitting 9-11 (81.8 percent)tonight. Rancik, the conference leader in FT percentage, hit 4-4, improving to 53-59 on the year.

*So much for trends. Before tonight, ISU was 1-8 when it's opponent reached 40 points first. Nebraska led 40-39. Before tonight, ISU was 1-8 when out shot by its opponent. Nebraska shot 44.4 percent; ISU shot 43.2 percent. Before tonight, ISU was 1-5 when being outrebounded. Nebraska had 26 rebounds, ISU had 25.