Despite giving up the lead with four minutes to go, 11th-ranked Iowa State fought its way to a 81-79 victory against 22nd-ranked Cincinnati on Tuesday in Cincinnati.

Forward Abdel Nader's 3-pointer with 11 seconds left provided the game's final points. The Bearcats missed two 3-point attempts in the final seconds.

Iowa State (10-1) fell to Northern Iowa by the same score over the weekend.

The Cyclones quickly jumped out to a double-digit lead, 16-5, in the first five minutes before Cincinnati began clawing its way back. The Bearcats (10-2) never gained the lead in the opening frame, and even watched their deficit grow to 13 late before reeling it in and heading into the half down 45-38.

The second half was an even tighter affair, but for a while Cincinnati still couldn't seem to come all the way back. The Bearcats trailed by 11 early in the second, but by the final eight minutes, they made it to a two-point game.

With 7:29 to go, Cincinnati freshman forward Jacob Evans cut the deficit to 67-65 with a 3-pointer, but Iowa State guard Matt Thomas answered to open the lead back up to five.

The Bearcats finally gained their first lead with under four minutes left, 71-70, on a jumper by junior guard Kevin Johnson.

That lead, the only one Cincinnati held all night, would stick until the final seconds, when Nader hit his clutch shot.

Iowa State seniors, forward Georges Niang and guard Monte Morris, scored 24 and 16 points respectively. Junior guard Troy Caupain led Cincinnati with 18, while Evans had 14 off the bench.

Cincinnati gets a week off before taking on Temple in its American Athletica Conference opener on Dec. 29. The Cyclones' next game will be at home Dec. 30 against Coppin State.