The ISU men’s basketball team was unable to overcome a horrid first half Saturday against Kansas State, losing its third straight game, 69-60.

The Cyclones (11-8, 2-3 Big 12) were befuddled by the Wildcat defense, scoring just 16 points in the opening period, with only two players, Jiri Hubalek and Wesley Johnson, recording field goals.

“It was a grind – the first half,” said coach Greg McDermott. “They took advantage of the mistakes we made. Their physical play really impacted us.”

The rugged Wildcat defense forced the Cyclones into 10 first-half turnovers and just 30 percent shooting from the field. Cyclone leading scorer Mike Taylor was held scoreless in the first half on 0-of-6 shooting and misfired on his first eight attempts of the game.

Taylor’s struggles magnified the problems of a Cyclone offense that struggled through two scoring droughts in the first half.

“We were out of sync in the first half,” Taylor said. “We had a little bit of carryover from the Colorado game. It was just tough for us to get going in the first half.”

Neither team scored for a 4:47 stretch midway through the first half. The Cyclones’ part of that drought lasted over five-and-a-half minutes.

To make things worse, the Cyclones’ last field goal of the half came with 5:14 to play.

“Kansas State is a physical team and very experienced,” McDermott said. “We had too many turnovers in the first half and too many possessions in a row where [we] went scoreless. Our guys were frustrated by a turnover, or a defensive breakdown. Good players do not let their emotions affect the way they play.”

The physical nature of the Kansas State (13-6, 3-2) defense made it tough for the Cyclones work the ball inside, but when opportunity was there, Iowa State received good production in the post.

Hubalek managed 17 points and 10 rebounds and was the most consistent performer in the game for Iowa State. He said he didn’t let Kansas State’s physical play disrupt what he wanted to do.

“It was a regular Big 12 game. There is no team that plays weak; everyone is physical,” Hubalek said. “Right now we have to look in the mirror and decide where we want to be. We have to decide where we want to go and decide how much commitment we want to give.”

The Cyclone defense also suffered a few breakdowns, playing well for stretches before giving up easy baskets off mental errors.

“Defensively, it seemed like we’d defend well for 25 seconds and then our breakdown would come in the final ten seconds,” McDermott said. “We spent a lot of energy on the defensive end as a result of that.”

Kansas State was able to get out to an early lead and keep Iowa State at a distance for most of the games, thanks to 22 points from David Hoskins. Lance Harris and Cartier Martin added 18 and 17 points, respectively.

“When you look across our offense we don’t have a lot of players who look like David Hoskins or Cartier Martin,” McDermott said. “You can prepare for what they’re going to do. Can you prepare for how strong and physical they are? That’s hard to do.”

Iowa State has the week off now before traveling to Stillwater, Okla., to face No. 12 Oklahoma State.

According to Taylor, the break is welcome.

“These losses have started to snowball,” Taylor said. “Just keep rolling over and over and getting bigger. We just have to pull it together.”