New faces emerged from the locker room and new names were called out during starting lineups. It took some time for everything to gel.

The ISU men’s basketball team took the floor at Hilton Coliseum for the first time Sunday with the bulk of its roster changed from last season’s NCAA tournament. The result through the first half was missed shots and turnovers.

“I thought we were timid in the first half,” said ISU coach Fred Hoiberg. “They hit some contested shots, and I think we let it bother us. We weren’t getting out of the net, pushing it down the floor like we’ve been practicing. We just didn’t have any flow going in the first half.”

The second half was a different story. The Cyclones outscored its exhibition opponent Augustana 54-29 in the final 20 minutes of play, shooting above 52 percent and hitting six 3-pointers on their way to a 90-68 victory.

Iowa State, who made a school record 346 3s last season, didn’t hit a 3-pointer until freshman Matt Thomas made one five minutes into the second half. Thomas and fellow freshman Monte Morris combined to go 9-of-14 from the field with Thomas scoring 16 in his ISU debut and Morris 11.

“I wouldn’t say I was nervous, but I think as a whole team we just got off to a really slow start,” Thomas said. “In the second half my teammates were getting me open shots and I was just able to knock them down.”

Senior transfer DeAndre Kane led the way for Iowa State with 19 points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes.

“He just went out there and did everything,” Hoiberg said of the transfer from Marshall. “Those guys were getting some offensive rebounds, and when DeAndre rebounds, it we’re able to push it and fly up the floor. You don’t have to throw an outlet pass.”

The Cyclones were without senior forward Melvin Ejim, who hyperextended his left knee and suffered a bone bruise in Wednesday’s practice. Ejim is currently expected to miss four to six weeks and has the already new-look team working on chemistry.

After a slow start, that eventually started coming together. 

“We started out slow, picked it up in the second half,” Kane said. “We started playing our type of basketball. We rebounded the ball really well in the second half and got some good shots.”

Iowa State begins regular season play at noon Sunday, Nov. 10, at Hilton Coliseum against UNC-Wilmington.