Showing an ability to put the ball in the hole that fans have not seen since the days of Johnny Orr, Iowa State easily disposed of its opponents at the Cyclone Challenge by an average of over 30 points to capture the crown.

The title game, played against Sam Houston State, was played Saturday night before a partisan crowd of 9,411 fans who were treated to a physical matchup that eventually worked to ISU’s favor.

The Cyclones overcame a second-half uprising by the brackets to take an 84-69 win and the tournament title.

The Cyclones were led by Marcus Fizer, voted the tournament’s MVP, who scored 24 points along with 10 rebounds.

“I figured a game like this might happen. I just thought it would last night [Friday]. We are a tired team, but we fought through that and won the game. This isn’t a game we would’ve won last year. I really think that. I’m very proud of my team,” coach Larry Eustachy said.

ISU jumped on SHS right off the bat, sprinting to a 20-6 lead after just six minutes of play, led by Fizer’s six points.

However, the bracket defense then stiffened up and wouldn’t let the post player get the ball deep inside the paint, and ISU began to struggle with its outside shot.

SHS went on a 13-6 run to cut the deficit to seven at 26-19 with just under eight minutes to play.

The rest of the first half was pretty evenly played, and ISU went into intermission with a 41-32 lead.

The second half started out much the same way, and Sam Houston State actually cut the lead to five points at 54-49 with 11:40 left before ISU went on a 9-2 run that would put the game basically out of reach.

The Cyclones were buoyed by the performance of Michael Nurse. The starting guard has been outstanding for the most part this season, and Saturday night was no different.

The senior from Brooklyn went 5-8 from behind the arc en route to 18 points, a career-high.

“I am shooting the ball really well right now,” he said. “I just hope I continue to do so. They were a physical team tonight. They didn’t just let us do what we wanted with the ball, and it was a good win.”

Nurse, along with Martin Rancik, Jamaal Tinsley and Fizer, all found spots on the all-tourney team.

Rancik had his most solid outing of the year, scoring 15 points and pulling down seven rebounds.

“I talked to Coach Eustachy about really being more aggressive, and I tried to do that tonight. I need to continue to do that, and we have to be that way as a team as well,” said Rancik, who was 7-8 at the free throw line.

He said the fatigue his coach and some teammates mentioned shouldn’t play a role in how the team plays.

“Yeah, we had three tough games in three days and had to fly here and all that stuff, but it shouldn’t matter. It’s going to get a lot harder than this in the Big 12, and we know we have a lot to improve on before we’re ready,” Rancik said.

In what will surely be the worst team the Cyclones will face this year, ISU defeated Mississippi Valley State 106-64 on Friday.

Eighteen of those points came off fast breaks, while MVSU had no points in the transition game.

It was no contest from the start, as the Cyclones used the dominating inside play of Marcus Fizer and the outside shooting of Michael Nurse and Kantrail Horton to easily dispatch the Delta Devils.

Fizer ended the game with 27 points and 12 rebounds, while Horton and Nurse combined for 27 points on 5-9 shooting behind the arc.

Eustachy said it was good for the team to have a game like this.

“We not only wanted to win this one, we wanted to enjoy it. I was a little concerned about the team coming in, but they played very well. This is a very close team, and I’m glad they got one like this,” Eustachy said.

Fizer, who averaged 26.5 points and 10 rebounds in the tournament, said he didn’t mind taking the last seven minutes off either.

“It was great to have a game like this when I can sit back near the end of the game and enjoy watching the people play that don’t get to be in there a lot,” Fizer said.

One of the major stories of the tournament was the play of guard Kantrail Horton.

Clearly hurting from an ankle injury, he was able to score 18 points while dishing out 11 assists compared with only two turnovers in the two games.

“He is a great story. Most guys wouldn’t even be playing on that ankle, but he really wants to be in there and is doing a great job,” Eustachy said.

The Cyclones will have one more tune-up game, against Milwaukee-Wisconsin on Wednesday, before playing host to the University of Iowa on Saturday night.