Slowly but surely, the ISU men’s basketball team pulled away from Wayne State on Monday night to close out exhibition play with a 55-41 victory.

Things got off to a slow start with the first ISU points not coming until nearly four minutes into the game.

“I thought we lacked a little of the energy and enthusiasm that we had on Friday, and that’s disappointing,” said coach Greg McDermott. “That has to be a constant.”

Still, the Cyclones held a 21-16 lead at halftime after an ugly first half in which the two teams each shot just 29 percent from the field.

“We’re a better-shooting team than we’ve shown,” McDermott said.

“We’re not a great-shooting team and we never will be, but we have a couple players who are better shooters than they’ve shown.”

The second half wasn’t much better for the Cyclones, who committed six turnovers and shot just 34.6 percent from the field. Iowa State finished the game with a total of 16 turnovers and a 31.6 shooting percentage.

“We’re making too many foolish mistakes, both offensively and defensively,” McDermott said. “Some of those turnovers are easy plays, plays that we practice a lot on the practice floor, and when the lights come on, everything happens a little faster.”

Rahshon Clark notched a double-double and led all scorers for the Cyclones with 12 points and 10 rebounds, but he recognized that the team will have to play better once the season gets underway.

“It’s going to take a while before we reach the potential that we have,” Clark said. “It’s going to take a lot more time, practice and hard work.

“There’s always room for improvement. We just have to show up and work hard.”

Walk-on redshirt freshman Brock Jacobson tallied his first baskets in competition for the Cyclones, scoring eight points and knocking down two of Iowa State’s six 3-pointers.

Cory Johnson, a freshman forward from Duluth, Minn., had seven points and seven boards, giving Iowa State a presence in the post.

After Iowa State broke in six new players Friday night, the game against Wayne State was their first as “experienced” players, but the large number of freshmen and inexperienced players will remain a concern of McDermott’s throughout the season.

“We have to be pretty perfect,” McDermott said. “Our margin for error is pretty small when you consider our short bench and that there are going to be nights when our freshmen are going to be freshmen.”

McDermott spent six years as the head coach at Wayne State from 1994 to 2000 in which he took the Wildcats to two NCAA Division II tournaments and a Sweet Sixteen appearance, compiling a record of 116-53.

“I was happy to give Wayne State a chance to come here and play,” McDermott said. “That’s where I got my start and I really developed professionally at Wayne State.”

Iowa State opens the regular season at 8 p.m. Friday when the Cyclones take on UC-Riverside in the first round of the American Family Insurance BTI Cyclone Challenge.