Wesley Johnson left the rust on his seat on the bench Tuesday night.

The guard returned to the Cyclones’ starting lineup with 18 points in Iowa State’s 61-48 loss to Northern Iowa after a foot injury sidelined the sophomore for over three weeks. He was greeted with a standing ovation by the 14,376 fans in attendance.

“I was glad to be back,” Johnson said. “They welcomed me back and I felt good about it. It really felt like the whole Cyclone Hilton Magic.”

Johnson got that magic going early on. He started off his season by hitting his first two shots of the season, hitting a pair of 3-pointers, his first hitting with 18:35 remaining in the first quarter. The 6-foot-7, 210-pound guard added his second just over a minute later, giving the Cyclones an 8-4 lead en route to an 8-0 ISU run to open the first half.

“Wesley got them off to a nice start,” said UNI coach Ben Jacobson. “You’re always worried that the guy who’s been injured is going to come in, and Wesley certainly did that.”

He played more minutes than expected. Cyclones’ coach Greg McDermott said Monday that Johnson would be limited in his availability Tuesday. With forward Craig Brackins sent to the bench early in the first half with two fouls, McDermott stuck with Johnson. Johnson finished the night logging in 35 minutes.

“He limped for a good portion of the night,” McDermott said. “That’ll come as time goes on. We just have to be careful that we don’t push him too much.”

But it was Johnson who almost pushed Northern Iowa into a corner. With 4:41 remaining in the second half, he connected for a baseline jumper that appeared to give Iowa State 3 points to tie the game at 46. Instead, referees reviewed the play and found that Johnson’s foot was on the line.

“I thought it was a three,” Johnson said. “But they said it was a two.”

Even without the three, the sophomore finished the night shooting 7 of 14, with a pair of rebounds and one assist.

“When I think of the way we started the two halves, I don’t think we could have started that way without Wesley,” McDermott said. “His personality is good for our team.”

Win or loss, Johnson was just happy to be on the court instead of the sidelines.

“I enjoyed it,” Johnson said. “I was glad to be back.”