On a night when a lot of things did not go right - before and during the game - Iowa State survived Northern Illinois 72-63 on Monday night in Ames, Iowa.

The Cyclones used only six players, and will take a seven-game winning streak into their Big 12 Conference opener at Nebraska on Saturday.

Diante Garrett scored a game-high 22 points to lead four Iowa State players in double figures. The Cyclones played without their second leading scorer, Scott Christopherson, who had a bruised shooting arm, and a key reserve, Jordan Railey, who was suspended for a violation of team rules.

Iowa State (13-2) was outshot from the field for only the second time in 15 games this season by Northern Illinois (4-8), which held the Cyclones to a season-low 35.9 percent and outrebounded them 46-36.

Jake Anderson played three years at Northern Illinois, graduated early and transferred to Iowa State for his final year of eligibility. He scored 16 points against his former team. The Cyclones also got 11 points and 11 rebounds from freshman Melvin Ejim, and 11 points, seven rebounds, and six blocked shots from Jamie Vanderbeken.

Northern Illinois' Xavier Silas, the fourth leading scorer in the nation at 24.6 points per game, was held to 18.