The Cyclone men’s basketball team started out the season strongly with a 69-61 victory over the Estonia Select team in a game in which they never trailed.

Leading the charge for the Cyclones were sophomore Martin Rancik and junior Stevie Johnson, who scored 22 and 13 points, respectively.

Iowa State came out for the first time this season in new uniforms and a new lineup that had many scratching their heads.

In the backcourt, junior college transfer Lamar Gregg and sophomore Paris Corner got the nod, while the frontcourt saw Rancik, junior Tony Rampton, and Johnson starting the contest.

Those five starters combined to start 29 games last year, with Johnson having 23 of those.

“I played the players I thought had worked hardest in practice,” coach Larry Eustachy said.

“In this game, we played like we practice. Parts were really good, and parts were really poor.”

The Cyclones came out with an energy that was not readily seen a year ago and jumped to a quick 9-2 advantage.

They held a steady lead throughout the half and went into the locker room with a 38-28 advantage as Lee Love hit a three-pointer with four seconds left.

Rancik had a solid half with 13 points and six rebounds, while Marcus Fizer, the leading scorer from a year ago, added 10 points in only 12 minutes of action.

The second half saw the Cyclones open up their biggest lead of the game at 52-36 with 15:25 left, but the Estonia Select team would not let the game get out of hand and finished by outscoring the ‘Clones 25-17.

The Estonian team included former Cyclone standout Ron Bayless, who was curiously a non-factor throughout much of the game offensively.

He was a factor defensively, however, as he had four steals in showing off the quick hands that made him a fan favorite during his time at ISU.

Fizer and Klay Edwards, thought by many to be the starting forwards of the club, played a combined 29 minutes and largely struggled in the reduced role.

“I think Marcus was really set back when he had to sit out the first three or four days of practice with the injury. He is a tremendous talent, though and we will do our best to get his talents on the floor,” Eustachy said.

Rancik, however, was on his game like never before, and ended with 10 rebounds to go along with his 22 points, both of which would have blown his previous highs of seven boards and 15 points out of the water, had the game been counted officially.

“Martin is an excellent offensive player. He may be our best, although it’s hard to tell because it’s so early,” Eustachy said.

Johnson also played a very solid game, leading the team with 37 minutes while pouring in 13 points, grabbing eight rebounds, dishing out five assists and not surrendering a single turnover.

“Stevie, I thought, played a great game. He didn’t have any turnovers in all the minutes he played — that’s pretty amazing,” Eustachy said.

The offense was not always clicking on all cylinders, but Eustachy thinks that will come with time.

“We’ll score. Right now, though, our offense is in its infant stages, and I’m not sure how long it will take. We just have to keep working hard in practice, and the offense will come.”

The coach also announced that he will be redshirting fan favorite Paul Shirley and Dewayne Johns, the 7-foot-1-inch junior college transfer.

The Cyclones will continue to look to improve as they play their second and final exhibition game against World Basketball Opportunities Sunday at 3:00 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum.