Iowa State won the second annual Cyclone Challenge on Friday, by defeating the Siena Saints in the championship game 64-54. The game was not as close as the score shows. Siena went on a 12-0 run with less than 2 minutes left.

Despite missing starting guard and leading scorer Dedric Willoughby with a strained left hamstring, the Cyclones opened up the first half with its best shooting percentage in three games at 46 percent. With Willoughby on the bench, the scoring by ISU was spread out among the team.

ISU Head Coach Tim Floyd was pleased with the play of his team in the first half. “We took good shots in the first half, we were much more fluid,” Floyd said.

With 14 minutes left in the first half, Floyd substituted all five starters. This move sparked the crowd when ISU center Kelvin Cato came in to replace Tony Rampton. Cato registered six blocks in the game with four coming in the first half. The Cyclones’ defensive effort held Siena shooters to just 29 percent from the field and added a boost to the ISU offense as well.

After taking a 12-9 lead with 12 minutes to play in the first half the Cyclones started building what seemed to be an insurmountable lead.

ISU went on an 11-0 run with little more than three minutes left and went into the locker room at half with a 38-17 lead.

The Cyclones were consistent in its play throughout most of the second half. ISU led by 23 points with less than four minutes left to play. Floyd substituted his starters with about two minutes left and Siena made a 12-point run narrowing the gap to 64-54 , but was never a real threat to come back.

Floyd was especially pleased with the play of point guard Jacy Holloway, who grabbed nine rebounds to tie for the most on the team with Cato. Holloway also led the team with seven assists and just one turnover.

“[Holloway] is so geared toward making those around him better,” Floyd said. “There is not a selfish bone in his body.”

Despite the 12-point run by Siena, Floyd was pleased with the play of his bench. “We’re getting very good play off of our bench right now,” Floyd said. “[We’re] getting a bigger belief system in our bench.”