An exhibition game is still an exhibition game, even without your star player.

With Curtis Stinson on the bench, the ISU men’s basketball team still managed to stomp the EA Sports All-Stars 81-54.

Stinson and junior forward Anthony Davis sat out Monday’s game nursing minor shoulder injuries. Head coach Wayne Morgan said sitting out Stinson and Davis was a precautionary measure.

“We are at a time in the preseason where guys get nicked up and aggravate previous injuries,” Morgan said. “It’s better to closely monitor these situations now and have everyone ready for the games that count on the permanent record.”

It took a while for the Stinson-less Cyclones to get going as they scored only eight points in the first eight minutes of the game. The Cyclones eventually got things going on offense and took a 36-23 lead into halftime.

Sophomore guard Will Blalock opened things in the second half, scoring 15 of his game-high 24 points in that period. EA Sports tried to close the gap, tightening the score to 47-40 with 13:13 to go in the game, but a 3-pointer and a reverse lay-up by Blalock off a steal made that the closest the All-Stars would get.

Morgan said he couldn’t have asked for more from his point guard.

“I thought Blalock was spectacular; I can’t think of another point guard in the country that could have done better than he did tonight,” Morgan said. “He scored points when we needed it, and he calmed us down when we needed it.”

Blalock said he felt naked without Stinson in the lineup.

“Seeing him on the sideline was frustrating, but we just have to do what we have to do,” Blalock said. “We’ve been practicing without him for a few days, so we had to get used to me being more aggressive on offense.”

Blalock said he was the reason behind most of the team wearing headbands in support of the injured Stinson to promote “team togetherness.”

“Any time a great player is not playing, you have to band together,” Morgan said.