Iowa State was given all it could handle in their season-opener against Winston-Salem State on Friday at Hilton Coliseum.

Facing a team that went 5-24 in 2006-07, the Cyclones had to battle from the beginning, holding on for a 58-44 victory in front of a crowd of 14,376 in the first round of the Cyclone Challenge.

“It’s a little different when you’re playing for real,” coach Greg McDermott said. “The crowd, there was a little bit more energy in there tonight, and our guys experienced that for the first time.”

Freshman Craig Brackins was impressive in his first regular season game as a Cyclone, hitting a double-double with a game-high 13 points and 10 rebounds. Brackins is the first freshman in Cyclone history to get a double-double in their first game.

“I think I played pretty well,” Brackins said. “I was just trying to go after the boards. There were some jitters out there, but I think we came together and played pretty well.”

Brackins and seniors Rahshon Clark and Jiri Hubalek led the Cyclones with a combined 31 points.

Hubalek was starting his first game after sitting out Iowa State’s two exhibition wins with a foot injury. He led the team with 13 rebounds.

“It felt good to be back. I just have to make sure I’m ready to play,” Hubalek said.

Injuries continue to hamper Iowa State, as sophomore guard Wesley Johnson sat out the game after spraining his left ankle in practice leading up to the game. Clark also left the game with 8:13 left in the second half, but would return.

With the injuries, McDermott felt it was important that freshman stepped up, including Brackins and freshman guard Diante Garrett, who provided the Cyclones a spark off the bench with 11 points.

“Jiri’s not 100 percent, Rahshon’s not 100 percent, and Wesley’s out, Lucca’s out, and those are four really important guys,” McDermott said. “So we’ve got to do the best with what we have right now. These guys are doing everything we’re asking them to right now.”

The Rams started the second half strong, pulling to within 32-31 at the 13:26 mark with a Jamal Durham jumper in the paint. Iowa State went on a 9-0 run to push the score back up to 41-31, capped off by a pass under the hoop from Hubalek to Cory Johnson, who finished the play with a lay-up as part of his 10 points.

Winston Salem State refused to go away, pulling within 47-42 on a three-pointer by Darrell Wonge with 2:26 left. Clark answered on the other end with a rebound lay-up coming out of a time-out, and the Cyclones pulled away after that.

The first half saw a sluggish start by the Cyclones. Iowa State turned the ball over eight times, with three by starting point guard Bryan Petersen. The Cyclones also gave up eight offensive rebounds.

After five ties and five lead changes to start the game, Iowa State finished the half on a 12-5 run to take a 28-21 lead into the locker room. Rahshon Clark highlighted the run with an emphatic dunk that brought the Hilton crowd to its feet with 1:30 left in the half to give the Cyclones a 26-18 lead.

The Cyclones finished the game 0-12 from three-point range. Iowa State also finished the game with 15 turnovers.

“This game wasn’t a thing of beauty,” McDermott said. “We are going to have nights like this, especially with Wesley Johnson out of the lineup.”

Wonge led the Rams with 12 points.

Iowa State will play Centenary, 72-69 first-round winners over Lipscomb, in the championship game at 8 p.m. on Saturday.