The ISU men’s basketball team finished up its exhibition season with a 72-69 victory over Global Sports Monday night, but the win didn’t come easily.

“The word I would use is exposed,” ISU head coach Larry Eustachy said. “With our lack of toughness, physicalness and determination, we just didn’t play hard enough. Until we get that, we’ll have no chance against certain people.”

The Cyclones took their first lead of the second half with 5:58 left to play when freshman Tim Barnes put in a lay-up to spark an 8-0 run, which proved to be the difference in the game.

Barnes led Iowa State with 20 points and eight assists while committing zero turnovers in 36 minutes of play.

“His great-grandmother passed away. He missed all last week,” Eustachy said of Barnes. “I thought under the circumstances, he played really well. I thought he was a big factor down the stretch.”

Junior Jackson Vroman recorded the only double-double of the game with 11 points and 10 rebounds for Iowa State, while freshman Adam Haluska added nine points and six rebounds.

“We’re talking about infants on this team. They really are,” Eustachy said. “These are puppies. We have three guys in Vroman, Haluska and Barnes that we heavily rely on. They haven’t even played an official college game yet.”

Junior Jake Sullivan also scored 20 for the Cyclones, with 14 coming in the second half, and junior Marcus Jefferson pulled down seven rebounds and scored eight points.

Iowa State made six of 13 shots from beyond the arc, with Barnes putting in four of them.

“This team is really a perimeter team, something I’m not used to,” Eustachy said. “Ideally, you’d like to have a real balanced attack, but our best threats to score are in the perimeter, along with Vroman.”

The run toward the end of the game is what Eustachy is looking to as far as what the team needs to do to win games in the future.

He said a lack of experience and toughness played a part in the closeness of the game.

“We’re just defining ourselves. We’re 8 percent of what we hope to be,” Eustachy said. “Our problem is in practice. We don’t create the environment we had tonight. Practice is going to determine how we do this year.”

Vroman, who once again struggled at the free-throw line, making just one of six, also noted a lack of intensity throughout the game, making it harder for the Cyclones to get the lead.

“I think the difference was really obvious when went out and played hard,” Vroman said.

Global Sports came with a balanced attack, with five players scoring in double digits.

Former UTEP player George Banks blocked four shots down low and former Texas player Freddie Williams scored 15 points.

“They executed. They did stuff a normal Big 12 team would do, so we’re glad to get out of here with a win,” Sullivan said. “I wish we played more consistently throughout the game.”

The Cyclones kick off the regular season Monday at home against Coe College.

Eustachy knows there is much room for improvement has already mapped out the game plan for the coming weeks.

“We need better practices and a little luck,” he said.