IOWA CITY – ISU men’s basketball coach Greg McDermott has said it over and over, all season long.

This is a gradual process – a marathon, not a sprint.

His Cyclone team won’t put it all together at once. It’s something that will take time; one day, one game, one possession at a time.

But that doesn’t make it any less frustrating for McDermott or his players.

“We’ve got a choice to make,” McDermott said. “We can either decide to hold ourselves accountable and get better, or we’re going to keep making the same mistakes over and over.

“It’s our job as a coaching staff to try and take the high road, stay positive and keep these guys upbeat and try to move forward with our program.”

The latest bump in their learning curve came Friday, when the Cyclones fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes, wrapping up a 0-3 swing through the state of Iowa.

Iowa came out hot, grabbing an early lead and then putting distance between itself and the Cyclones in the second half, coasting to a 77-59 win in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“We did some good things in the Drake game, which we lost, and we did some good things in the Northern Iowa game, which we lost,” McDermott said. “I’m not sure we did as many good things tonight.”

Freshman Wesley Johnson scored Iowa State’s first nine points, but was held to four the rest of the game. He had nine rebounds and two blocks, sitting out much of the second half with foul trouble.

Guard Dodie Dunson caught fire at the end of the first half, scoring 10 points before halftime. But he didn’t score in the second half, missing all three of his field goal attempts.

“When two freshmen light you up in the first half, that’s going to be addressed in the locker room,” McDermott said. “They did a good job of making Dodie’s life more difficult in the second half, and they got more physical with Wesley; rushed him into some mistakes.”

Mike Taylor, Iowa State’s main offensive weapon, scored 13 and dished out five assists, but his eight turnovers continued his dangerous trend of not taking care of the ball.

“We just need more consistent play across the board,” McDermott said.

Iowa State hung around in the first half, cutting a six-point Hawkeye lead to one with just under 12 minutes to play in the first half. But every Iowa State run was answered by Iowa.

After seeing its lead whittle down to one, Iowa went on a 13-2 run, a stretch that would eventually put the game out of reach.

Iowa State, 6-3 overall, plays next against Savannah State on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum.