Sometimes there are those games where it isn’t pretty, it isn’t easy, but one team just has to get the job done.

That team was Iowa State against Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday night, winning 83-72.

The Cyclones (6-2) have showed their depth and ability to have a variety of players contribute already this season, but it was Korie Lucious who took charge.

“I think any given night, we have so many good players that can make plays both ends of the court,” Lucious said. “Tonight was just one of those nights for us.”

It was a game where the Eagles held a lead for the majority of the first half, but a surge over the final 20 minutes allowed Iowa State to capture its sixth win.

Lucious got the second half rolling with a pair of 3s in the first few minutes. Lucious finished with five from beyond the arc en route to a 17-point night, which he credited to more time in the gym.

“This week I was in getting extra shots in; at night, [I] got in there a couple times, and then [I] came in during the day, so it was great preparation coming up to this game,” Lucious said.

The Michigan State transfer also added nine assists on the night and ISU coach Fred Hoiberg said a solid night from Lucious always improves their chances.

“It certainly helps,” Hoiberg said. “We hit 13 3s tonight and Korie comes out and hits five of them. They went under on a couple ball screens, he rose up with confidence and hit that shot.”

The Cyclones finished with 21 assists overall, helping balance out the 19 turnovers it had against the Eagles.

“You go 21 assists on 34 field goals; that part’s great, and I told the guys ‘How good could we be if we cut our turnovers in half and that many more opportunities to get a shot up?’” Hoiberg said.

Ejim acknowledged the Eagles (6-4) were a tough team and not one to take for granted, but credited the poor first half more to a lack of effort on Iowa State’s end.

They’re a good team, they’ve got good players that can make shots so it was really about our work effort on defense and just getting back and playing hard.

Despite those turnovers, Iowa State did manage to turn 23 FGC giveaways into 35 points on the night. Lucious said it played a big role.

“Whenever you can force a team to turn over the ball and then get points on the other end of the floor is big for us,” Lucious said. “That just leads to transition points, and that’s what we like to do.”