Iowa State Coach Tim Floyd said his team got into a game of “horse” against the World Basketball Opportunities on Wednesday night.

Unfortunately for ISU, the team wound up a few letters and five points behind on the scoreboard as the Cyclones lost by the final score of 83-78.

Floyd said the team currently is much better on the offensive end of the floor than the defensive end.

“We’re not worth a darn on the defensive end of the floor,” he said.

“I’m hoping for change,” Floyd said. “We obviously have a long way to go.”

One thing Floyd has been unable to find on the perimeter and inside is a defensive stopper. He said none of his players are exhibiting the “warrior mentality” he looks for in a defensive stalwart.

Floyd said he is disappointed that so far the team has shown “no real ability to stop on the other end.”

Once again, Floyd rotated his squad into the game, as 12 players saw action in the first half through mass substitution.

It seemed to benefit the Cyclones as the team blazed offensively, hitting 19 of 28 shots, a 68 percent clip.

The hot early shooting staked the ‘Clones to as much as a 10-point lead during the first half, and a six-point halftime advantage.

Junior Delvin Washington paced the Cyclone offense in the first half scoring 11 points on 5-5 shooting, including one three-pointer.

The first half started out well for ISU, as the team jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead by consecutive baskets by Stevie Johnson.

Johnson’s two early hoops eclipsed his total scoring output in the team’s opening exhibition game against the Yugoslavian Select team.

ISU trailed only once during the first half, falling behind 14-13 with 14:28 left.

In the second half, Floyd substituted on a mistake basis. And mistakes came much more often in the half as the Cyclones struggled at both scoring and stopping WBO’s offensive attack.

WBO shot 55 percent from the field in the second half including nailing five three-pointers.

As well as WBO played after the intermission, ISU went in the other direction.

Washington and his Cyclone teammates did not adjust well to WBO’s 2-3 zone defense in the second half. Washington only drilled one of his five attempts, and his Cyclone team went 11-26.

Floyd said his team’s play was characteristic of the practices up to this point in the season. He said the team is having trouble maintaining a high level of play over extended periods of time.

WBO took control of the game holding the lead for good with 4:03 left in the game after Atchinson netted two free throws for a 71-69 WBO lead.

ISU couldn’t close the gap, and the inexperience of the team showed through in the contest’s closing minute as the Cyclone defense allowed precious time to tick off the clock before fouling with just 12 seconds remaining.

Once again, freshman forward Marcus Fizer led the team in scoring with 23 points on 8 of 9 shooting from the field. He also was 7-8 from the free throw line.

Four Cyclones, Fizer, Johnson, Washington and Edwards scored double-figures.

Starting center Tony Rampton did not score and had only two rebounds in 11 minutes of action.

Fizer, along with Klay Edwards, led ISU on the boards, as each recorded five. All 12 players who saw time logged at least one rebound.

The players who saw the most minutes were Washington and Jerry Curry in the backcourt and Edwards, Fizer and Johnson along the frontline.

Antoine Gillespie led the traveling team with 24 points, while Stan Gouard added 15 and Ian Stuart 14. Former Cyclone Hurl Beechum hit for nine points for WBO.

The Cyclones shot 55 percent for the game, a mark which normally equates a win, especially for a Floyd-coached team.

Floyd agreed that the team’s point total and shooting percentage should allow a team to win, unless the team doesn’t defend well.

Washington also pegged the team’s defensive play as the team’s Achilles’ heel.

“We’ve got to get our defense ready,” he said. “That’s too many buckets.”

Fizer said when the team reaches its defensive potential, the team will be all right. “We’re going to shock the world,” he said.

He is confident of his young teammates. “Our offense is going to be there,” he said.

Fizer said Floyd will get the team ready to play its first game, especially in doing a better job guarding the other team.

He said the loss can prove to be a learning experience for the young players. He said the taste of a loss will serve as a motivating factor.

“We can’t let a team stay in that close of a game, or we can lose,” Fizer said.

An exhibition loss is nothing new to the Cyclones, as the team has lost one exhibition game in each of Floyd’s four seasons. But as Floyd put it, “Thank God it didn’t count.”

Floyd said corrections must be made in order for the team to win its regular season-opener on Sunday against the University of Northern Iowa.

“Hopefully our defense can get better in the next three days,” Floyd said.

The game against the Panthers is a 3:00 tipoff at Hilton Coliseum.