It may have been an exhibition game, but it was still a loss.

For just the third time in school history, the ISU men’s basketball team dropped an exhibition game in a 64-57 defeat by EA Sports in Hilton Coliseum on Saturday night.

The Cyclones shot a dismal 27.4 percent from the field and only managed nine field goals in the second half in their first chance to play as a team against competition other than themselves.

“I thought we tried hard tonight,” coach Wayne Morgan said. “I thought EA Sports played good. It was an exhibition of basketball and we lost the exhibition.”

Iowa State was playing somewhat shorthanded as an injury kept Anthony Davis out and freshman center Shawn Taggart did not play after battling the flu for the past week.

Even with players out, the Cyclones still managed to get many young players their first experience in a Cyclone uniform.

Freshman Ross Marsden started for Iowa State while sophomore Jiri Hubalek and junior Jessan Gray all played significant minutes.

“We’re a young group and that was our first time out,” junior guard Will Blalock said. “Guys were probably a little nervous and we just couldn’t seem to get it together offensively.”

Blalock led the Cyclones offensively with 21 points, including a 5 for 5 effort from the free-throw line.

But even Blalock struggled from the floor, shooting just 39 percent on 7-of-18 field goal attempts.

“I think that if you have many games that you shoot 27 percent, you’re not going to beat anybody, but we’ll get better at that,” Morgan said.

Morgan was optimistic the game could serve as a learning tool for his team, as well as illustrate some of the positive things.

“I think it helps our kids understand some of the things we have to do better,” he said. “We had 20 offensive rebounds, but we didn’t put the ball in the basket. We had chances to put it in the basket, but we did not and sometimes that happens.”

On the defensive side of the ball, things were better for Iowa State.

The Cyclones forced 25 turnovers and pulled down 25 defensive rebounds, limiting EA to just seven offensive rebounds.

“I thought our defense was good, we made them turn the ball over 25 times and we rebounded the ball,” Morgan said.

“You can control the way you rebound and create turnovers, but sometimes you can’t control if your shots fall.”

Blalock said he also sees the loss as maybe the best preparation the Cyclones could get as they prepare for their final exhibition against Bemidji State on Friday and the start of the regular season.

“I look at it as a wake up call,” Blalock said. “We’ve got a lot of new guys and they’ve never played at this level. Now they’ve seen the competition and it’s going to get a lot better.”