AMES — It was a slow start for the Iowa State men’s basketball team when they took to the floor at Hilton Coliseum Sunday night in an exhibition game against Augustana.
The Cyclones, playing without star forward Melvin Ejim, trailed the Vikings 39-36 when the two teams headed into the locker rooms for halftime. But, the Cyclones were able to outscore the Vikings 54-29 in the second half to pick up the 90-68 win.
When the two teams took back to the floor after the half it didn’t take long for Iowa State to change the tide of the game. After Augustana hit one of two free throws on their first possession of the half, senior guard DeAndre Kane took over for the Cyclones scoring the next four points to even the game at 40.
Kane finished the night with a team high 19 points, to go along with 10 rebounds, in his first game in a Cyclone uniform after transferring from Marshall.
Kane was far from the only Cyclone making his debut that made his mark on this game. Freshman guard Matt Thomas finished the game with 16 points and three 3-pointers, in his first collegiate action.
Fred Hoiberg’s team also picked up good minutes from freshman point guard Monte Morris. On the night, Morris finished with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists. He also picked up a big bucket as time expired in the first half to send Iowa State into the locker room with the momentum.
In a game that saw 11 players score, Georges Niang was the final Cyclones to score in double figures. Niang finished the first exhibition of his sophomore campaign with 10 points, seven rebounds and a team high six assists.
After going 0-for-8 in the first half from behind the arc, Iowa State finished 6-for-16 from three. The Cyclones also shot 49.3 percent from the field for the game. The Vikings hit four threes in the first half, but then were held without a three in the second half. The Vikings shot 39.1 percent from the field on the night and were led in scoring by freshman guard Matt Brazendale who finished with a game-high 21 points.
The Iowa State men’s next action will be Sunday, Nov. 10 when they take on UNC-Wilmington at noon in Hilton Coliseum to start the regular season.
