ISU coach Greg McDermott had a rare smirk on his face as Iowa State headed into the locker room at the end of the first half of a 79-55 win over Texas Southern on Monday.

The Cyclones (6-4) held a 44-28 lead over the Tigers (1-9) at halftime, and McDermott had just watched center Jiri Hubalek put up 15 points and 11 rebounds – a first half double-double in the second game of the Las Vegas Classic.

Hubalek was not in McDermott’s good graces after banking in an ill-advised three pointer in the final minutes of an 80-57 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Monday in the first round of the tournament. Wednesday, he redeemed himself, grabbing rebounds with a look of intensity etched on his face, and worked his way inside for easy layups en route to a 27 point, 15 rebound night in front of 11,982 at Hilton Coliseum.

“Guys found me in some really good positions and all I needed to do was lay it in,” Hubalek said. “I found the flow early in the game and then just kept going. I just have to thank my teammates for finding me at the right time.”

Hubalek was far from the lone bright spot for the Cyclones. Craig Brackins added presence inside with 13 points. Rahshon Clark added 13 and Bryan Petersen had 11, something Clark attributed to the play of the inside positions.

“It’s great when you have big guys who can do damage inside, and then have the other team suck in and have us available to know a shot down,” Clark said. “It’s a great feeling, getting in a rhythm like that.”

McDermott said the game-plan was to pound the ball inside, something he wanted to see from the team during both games early this week.

“It’s sometimes not the most exciting thing to watch when you dribble it down and throw it inside, but I thought it was beautiful,” McDermott said. “That was our plan these last couple games was to get as many inside as we possibly could, and I felt like our guards did a good job recognizing when we had an opportunity to get it in there.”

The Cyclones started the game on a 7-0 run before the Tigers came back to force a 14-14 tie with 10:11 to play in the first half, and kept it close for much of the half. Iowa State went on a 16-2 run to end the first half after Kevin Abanobi earned a technical foul from hanging on the rim after his dunk brought the Tigers within two points at 28-26.

Clark said he had some words for his teammates after that play.

“I got upset, I got the guys together and told them something, and that turned on a switch, and we started playing from there,” he said.

After a 56-30 lead with 15:57 to play, McDermott gave the bench a chance. Texas Southern then went on a 10-2 run, prompting McDermott to put the starters back in until the latter portion of the game.

“I didn’t think our bench was quite as focused tonight as it has been in the past, and I think that is something they need to learn from and get back to,” McDermott said.

McDermott was pleased with Hubalek’s play, saying he thought Hubalek has shown improvement ever since missing the first two exhibition games with a broken foot.

“Jiri was more under control tonight, he took his time, he didn’t put the ball on the floor as much, he kept the ball higher, and as a result he made some shots he had been missing, he got to the free throw line and he relay rebounded it as well,” McDermott said.

As for shooting three-pointers, “I just knew I’m going to do my job inside. If the opportunity would come on the three I would think about it first. But, I mean, I’m 50 percent (3-6) on it now, so we’ll see,” Hubalek said with a laugh.

Iowa State will now turn their focus to Purdue, who they will play in the third round of the Las Vegas Classic AT 9:30 p.m. on Saturday in Las Vegas.