Melvin Ejim scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half and OT and 17th-ranked Iowa State rallied from 18 points down to beat Northern Iowa 91-82 on Saturday for its best start in 10 years.
Georges Niang added a career-high 22 points for Iowa State (7-0). It snapped a 3-game losing streak against the rival Panthers (3-5), whose slower tempo often flummoxed the up-and-down Cyclones.
Iowa State went on a 23-2 run midway through the second half to erase a 49-31 deficit. But Northern Iowa's Seth Tuttle banked in a 3 with 1.3 seconds left to force OT.
Ejim responded with back-to-back 3s to put the Cyclones ahead 82-75 with 1:18 left. Iowa State was 5-of-7 shooting in OT and 8 of 9 from the line.
Nate Buss had 23 points and Wes Washpun scored 18 with eight assists for Northern Iowa, which was outscored 60-33 in the final 21:46.