The Iowa State men’s basketball team completed an undefeated exhibition season Saturday, posting a convincing 81-62 victory over World Basketball Opportunities, a club that narrowly defeated the Cyclones last exhibition season.

“We played the way we practice – in spurts,” head coach Larry Eustachy said after the game. “Some parts were very good, but we struggled at times.”

The Cyclones were sloppy out of the gate, falling behind by as many as four points in the opening minutes.

They laid claim to the lead at 15:57 of the first half on a Stevie Johnson 12-foot jumper to make the score 8-7. Though it would remain close for awhile, ISU would never relinquish their lead.

In a game that would eventually see all 10 Cyclones manage at least four points, nine scored in the first half.

Johnson and Martin Rancik led the early ISU charge, helping to push the first-half lead to about 10 and combining for 14 first-half points and five rebounds.

Senior Klay Edwards came off the bench to tie starter Marcus Fizer for the first-half lead in rebounds with six. Their combined 12 boards was better than the entire WBO team, which managed a first-half total of only nine.

The Cyclone lead remained about 10 points for the remainder of the first half, with Fizer contributing five of the final 13 ISU points to finish the half with seven.

James Hodges and Michael Hodges of WBO kept the game from getting out of hand, scoring 19 of their team’s 30 first-half points, including the final eight.

An Edwards dunk with time running out made the Cyclone halftime lead 41-30.

Despite the double-digit lead, Coach Eustachy was not impressed with the play of his team in the opening frame.

“I think we came out in the second half and played a much better quality of basketball,” Eustachy said.

The second half featured more Cyclone dominance on the boards and 22 points in the paint.

Johnson and Rancik each managed eight points to push their totals to 14 and 16, respectively, as the Cyclones continued to extend their lead.

“Stevie’s pretty good in exhibition games so far,” Eustachy said, noting that regular season competition will be considerably better than the Estonian Select Team and World Basketball Opportunities.

WBO would never get closer than the 11-point half-time deficit, falling as far behind as 28 points with under five minutes to go.

Fizer led all rebounders in the game with 13 and Edwards ended with nine as ISU pounded WBO inside to the tune of a 52-25 rebounding edge.

“I was really impressed with our rebounding,” Eustachy said. “I think we did a nice job on the boards.”

The Cyclones also allowed their opponents only two offensive rebounds in the game, both late in the second half.

“I think we were much more conscious of rebounding in this game than in the last game,” Eustachy said.

“We just try to take everything we work on in practice and bring it to the game to make things easier,” Fizer said.

Fizer added 11 points to go with his rebounds, the third highest total on the team.

Among the talented crop of Cyclone guards, Lee Love and Michael Nurse were among the most impressive.

Love finished the game with four points, four assists and no turnovers.

Nurse managed seven points, including one three-pointer, and five assists with two turnovers.

“Nurse is just like this team,” Eustachy said. “He practices in spurts and plays in spurts, and he has a lot of talent.”

Paris Corner led all guards in scoring with nine points, shooting 55 percent from the floor.

Shooting guard Rodney Hampton also caught the eye of his coach.

“Rodney showed a lot of maturity out there,” Eustachy said, “like he’s been there. I really like his game.”

James Hodges led WBO in scoring with 22 points and helped to narrow the final margin to within 20 as ISU emerged with an 81-62 victory.

“We’re ready to bring our talents into games with real schools now,” Fizer said after the game. “We’re tired of playing games like this.”

Cyclone Notes:

Head men’s basketball coach Larry Eustachy announced Sunday that 7-foot-1, 280-pound senior Dewayne Johns is no longer a part of the Cyclone basketball team.

“Dewayne struggled to repeat the daily routine of being a student athlete in this basketball program,” Eustachy said.

The imposing junior college transfer had been ticketed for redshirt status after having difficulties both in the classroom and on the hardwood.

“He was not accountable for going to class and being on time,” Eustachy said

The coach made it clear that Johns had been missing classes and practices and was not taking the team or his studies seriously.

“It just didn’t work out for Dewayne,” Eustachy said.

Eustachy also said Sunday that Johns’ departure was not temporary and that he would never again play basketball for Iowa State.