Not surprisingly, it was the newcomers that stole the show in Iowa State’s 100-50 exhibition win over Dubuque on Friday.

A new coach in his first game and six bodies on the floor that had never been a part of an ISU game were more than enough to push the Cyclones over the top.

“To be honest with you, I hadn’t slept much the past two days, I was nervous,” said former ISU basketball star Fred Hoiberg after winning his first game as the Cyclone mentor. “It was very emotional coming out there the first time as a coach.”

Hoiberg described the team as “pumped up” for its first action inside Hilton Coliseum. The team’s play reflected its excitement, as it jumped out to a 57-19 lead in the first half.

Jake Anderson, a transfer from Northern Illinois, led the way for the Cyclones in the first frame, going for 10 points and seven rebounds.

“The confidence that Coach builds helps us to be aggressive,” Anderson said.

Anderson finished with a double-double, 17 points and 10 rebounds, despite playing in only 23 minutes.

The senior from Chicago spent much of the game with the ball in his hands, but also made several hustle plays, keeping plays alive with offensive rebounds or diving after loose balls.

“On a team that probably needs some toughness, he definitely brought that,” Hoiberg said. “He’s not afraid to jump on a guy if he’s not giving effort or he’s not playing hard.”

The guard arrived in Ames and began working out with the team in June and will be expected to help Diante Garrett carry the load as the season moves along. In his final season at Northern Illinois, Anderson averaged 10.6 points and six rebounds per game.

“I just wanted to get in the flow with these guys,” Anderson said. “It was a great feeling.”

Garrett gave Cyclone fans a peek at what to expect from the team’s lone returning senior as well.

After spending his first three seasons as a pass-first guard, Hoiberg is expecting Garrett to shoot the ball more and to carry more of the scoring load for the inexperienced Cyclones.

“A lot of guys have been sagging back, going under ball screens, so all summer, all preseason long I’ve been in the gym just getting as many shots up as I can,” Garrett said. “I know a lot of guys are going to do it this year, so I’ve got to make them respect my jump shot.”

Garrett was 4-of-12 shooting, including hitting three of his seven 3-point attempts.

Freshman Calvin Godfrey also notched his first career double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds in his first collegiate game.

Godfrey also excited the Hilton crowd with a block on Dubuque’s Travis White’s 3-point try, then taking the ball to the opposite end for a thunderous dunk early in the second half.

“We’re going to need that from him all year long,” Anderson said. “We’re not deep, we’re not very big, so a guy like that that’s able to bring that to the table, we’re going to need that.”

Two other freshmen, Melvin Ejim and Jordan Railey, got into double-digit scoring, and Ejim played in 31 of the game’s 40 minutes, the most by any Cyclone. Eric McKnight was only the floor for 11 minutes and was the only Cyclone that didn’t score.

Redshirt freshman Bubu Palo scored 14 points, including going 8-of-10 from the free-throw line in his first action since the two exhibitions in the 2009 season.

“I told you all from day one that they’ve been working hard,” Garrett said. “That’s what I expect from them, if you work hard, then all of it will pay off.”