The first half hasn’t been their thing. At least, not yet this season.

Iowa State mounted a second-half comeback in an exhibition game against Minnesota State last week and took those early struggles to Friday’s opener against Southern as well, still winning 82-59

The Jaguars, hailing from Baton Rouge, La., gave the Cyclones (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) a run for their money in the first stanza at Hilton Coliseum.

Shooting, or lack thereof for the Cyclones, allowed the Jaguars to jump out to an early lead as Iowa State shot 39.5 percent from the field. Southern remained ahead for the first nine minutes until a fastbreak layup from Tyrus McGee put his team ahead 19-18.

McGee finished with five points and five rebounds, including two blocks in the victory.

As the first half drew to a close, Iowa State climbed back into the ballgame and traded leads with the SWAC team through the final minutes. Southern’s leading scorer Derick Beltran scored two of his 26 points with a layup as the clock ticked down to a minute and it looked as if Iowa State would be down at the half.

Lucious brought the ball up on the following possession. As he ran down the clock to its final seconds, swung a pass over to freshman Georges Niang for a 3 and Iowa State took the 41-39 lead to the break.

Whatever coach Fred Hoiberg said in the locker room must have worked however, as his team broke the game open during the final 20 minutes of play.

Will Clyburn led the team in the second half with his eight points. Clyburn had 16 overall including an ESPN Top Plays-worthy dunk over Southern big man Madute Bol. NBA enthusiasts may remember Bol’s late father Manute Bol as the 7-foot-7 former basketball star who at one point was the tallest man in the NBA.

The Clyburn dunk set Hilton Coliseum ablaze as the team increased the then 60-51 lead to as much as 26.

Turnovers also improved dramatically in the second half for the Cyclones. After Iowa State turned the ball over 17 times in the first half, the team produced just four during the final 20.

In addition to Clyburn’s 16 points and 10 rebounds, Percy Gibson finished with 17 and 10 to lead the team and Georges Niang came through with a double double as well.

Now the looming question is if Hoiberg and Co. can figure out how to put together two solid halves instead of just one. The next opportunity to do so is on Monday at Hilton Coliseum. Alabama A&M heads to Ames for a 7 o’clock start Monday night.

Quotables

Fred Hoiberg on his team’s sluggish start and Southern’s first half surge- “They were good, we were awful.”

Will Clyburn on his poster-sized dunk in the second half- “Plays like that always excite the team and create a lot of energy so whatever I’ve got to do to get the team going.”

Percy Gibson on his play Friday night-“This was definitely my best game but I feel like I can really add on to this. I don’t think this is the end.”