It looked as if Iowa State would cruise to an easy win in the championship game of the Cyclone Classic, but Centenary wasn’t going away that easily.

The Cyclones scored the first 12 points of the game and looked like they might have their way all night with the undersized Gents, but Centenary’s guards took advantage of their quickness to keep the game close.

In the end, Iowa State took advantage of its size and finally found its three point shooting to get the 67-57 victory and the tournament title Saturday night.

Junior Bryan Peterson led all scorers with 18 points, and freshman Craig Brackins chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds en-route to being named tournament MVP. Centenary was led by guards Tyrone Hamilton and Nick Stallings with 17 and 16 points respectively.

The Cyclone offense started slow, but it didn’t matter with the defense they were playing. Iowa State was in lock-down mode, holding Centenary scoreless for the first six minutes of a game before a pair of free throws by Lance Hill got the Gents on the scoreboard. The Gents didn’t record their first field goal until almost nine minutes had elapsed in the first half.

Iowa State ran into a drought late in the half, enabling Centenary to close the first half on a 13-6 run. The Cyclones scored on just three of their last eight possessions, including two turnovers, during the Gents’ run. Iowa State finished the half with 12 turnovers, compared to just 11 assists.

Brackins led all scorers with nine first-half points, with Peterson chipping in eight, one more than he had scored in the first three contests of the season combined. Peterson was also named to the all-tournament team.

It was a yo-yo of a second half. Centenary would close the gap to five, Iowa State would push it back to double digits, and then Centenary would slowly scrap back into it.