ISU men’s basketball had a new face in 2001-02.

Gone were NBA draft pick Jamaal Tinsley, Paul Shirley, Martin Rancik, Kantrail Horton and Richard Evans. Also gone was the nearly 65 percent of the scoring those players produced.

With the loss of the scoring came the loss of eight more games than the team had amassed in the two previous seasons combined. Although the team struggled in the win column, posting a 12-19 record, the Cyclones didn’t have any lack of excitement in their season. During the final minute of six of the 12 conference losses endured by the Cyclones, they held the lead, were tied or were behind by only two points. Nine of the defeats were by less than five points.

Iowa State was led by its lone senior, Tyray Pearson, and sophomores Jake Sullivan and Shane Power. Pearson was a solid post for the Cyclones. Despite going against taller players for much of the season, the 6-foot-7 forward averaged 18.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He led the team in both statistical categories. The second-team all-Big 12 pick also led Iowa State with seven double-doubles.

Sullivan continued where he left off in long-range accuracy, connecting on over 47 percent of his 3-point shots, good for the third-best percentage nationally. His 16 points-per-game average was second on the team, even though he suffered a sprained ligament in his knee during the fifth game of the season. He returned much earlier than expected when he came off the bench against Iowa.

After relying on a catch-and-shoot routine for much of the previous season, Sullivan expanded his game to include more penetration, ending in pull-up jumpers.

His 90 percent shooting from the charity stripe was fifth-best nationally.

Power, proved to be an iron man as he played the entire game in 11 contests and was the only Cyclone to start all 31 games.

The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 13.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, but it was his defense and hustle that came through in his game. Power came on strong late in the season, hitting on almost 52 percent of his shots in the final eight games. Some highlights and lowlights of the 2001-02 season:

Dec. 1 — San Jose State 64,

Iowa State 62

Iowa State’s 39-game home winning streak was halted with a loss to the Spartans, just one game after they lost to Division II Nebraska-Omaha. Power’s three-point attempt at the buzzer was short as San Jose State handed Iowa State its first-ever loss in the Cyclone Challenge. Sullivan missed the game due to his sprained knee.

“We wanted to make a basket. That’s what we wanted to do, but we couldn’t quite do it,” ISU head coach Larry Eustachy said after the loss. “We got out hustled, got out coached, got out everything. It’s a great win for San Jose State. We couldn’t match their hustle from the beginning to the end.”

Dec. 18 — Iowa 78, Iowa State 53

Reggie Evans scored 24 points and corralled 17 rebounds as the Hawkeyes won their second straight in the intrastate rivalry. The loss matched the largest margin of defeat endured by the Cyclones at Hilton Coliseum in its 30-year history.

Pearson had 20 points and Power added 17 for the Cyclones, who slipped to 5-4 on the young season. The loss would begin a three-game losing streak for Iowa State, including a 14-point loss to Drake.

“I told the team that we’d catch Iowa as determined as they’d be all season; we hooked a tiger,” Eustachy said after the loss. “It was just a lot of experience over a lot of youth. There’s no big story here, Iowa is a much better team right now.”

Jan. 9 – Iowa State 71, Missouri 67

Only 9,850 fans showed up to watch the Cyclones down the 17th-ranked Tigers, evening their Big 12 mark at 1-1 and improving their overall mark to 9-7. The back-and-forth contest featured five ties and nine lead changes. Iowa State led by 10 with just over 11 minutes remaining, but Missouri fought within three on six occasions.

Pearson had 28 points and Sullivan added 20 on 8-for-12 shooting, helping to overcome Kareem Rush’s 29 points.

“We really expected to win this game,” Eustachy said following the game. “I’m just proud of our guys. I almost came to tears after the game because I’m just so happy for this team. It’s as good a win as I’ve had since I’ve been here, under the circumstances.”

Iowa State would lose the next two meetings with Missouri, including a season-ending 20-point loss on March 7.

Jan. 12 – Oklahoma State 69,

Iowa State 66

After leading for most of the first half, the Cyclones saw the lead evaporate and were behind by as many as 10 points after halftime. Iowa State climbed back to within four points when Sullivan was fouled with 3.7 seconds remaining. He made the first and missed the second intentionally to give the Cyclones a shot to tie the game, but Power’s heave from past mid-court was after the buzzer.

“We had an opportunity and couldn’t get it done,” Eustachy said after the game. “We tried to miss that free throw and tip it and get a three to go to overtime, that’s how close we were. Yet so far away, we were an ocean away.”

Ivan McFarlin led a balanced attack for 6th-ranked Oklahoma State, scoring 16 points. The Cowboys withstood 30 points from Pearson to improve to 15-1 overall.

The 3-point loss to the Cowboys ended Iowa State’s 19-game conference winning streak in games played at Hilton Coliseum. It also began a stretch of eight losses that would see the Cyclones fall by three points or less in five of those games.

Feb. 13 – Iowa State 89, Colorado 63

Sullivan poured in 27 points on 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc, ending an eight-game skid in dominating fashion.

Pearson had 23 points and Power and Omar Bynum chipped in 15 and 14 points for the Cyclones, who won for the first time in over a month.

Tempers flared two minutes into the second half after Eustachy called a timeout. As the teams headed to their benches, Eustachy and Colorado’s D.J. Harrison exchanged words. Seconds later, the senior started towards the ISU huddle and was confronted by Jared Homan. The two went chest to chest and some minor shoving ensued, but no punches were thrown.

“I’m just glad I have Homan as my bodyguard,” Eustachy joked afterwards. “If I ever make it real big and get to drive a limo everyday, he’ll be driving it. I thought he came off the bench like somebody was stealing his cow or something.”

With the victory, Eustachy collected his 84th victory moving into fourth place on the all-time wins list, surpassing Tim Floyd.