After an unprecedented offseason, Iowa State men’s basketball returned to some sort of normalcy and began its 2020-21 season against Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Sunday.

Iowa State started off sluggish, but used a solid second half to win 80-63 over Pine-Bluff.

Javan Johnson, Rasir Bolton, Jalen Coleman-Lands, Solomon Young and Tyler Harris began the season as the first starting five for the Cyclones, but the combination of returning faces needed time to find their groove to open the season.

Iowa State started in a 10-0 hole, forcing Head Coach Steve Prohm to call timeout. Senior Solomon Young’s layup got the Cyclones’ scoring started, but scoring came sparingly in the first half.

Iowa State started 0-5 from three, finishing the first half 4-18 from deep. Iowa State shot 38.2 from the field in the first half. 

The poor shooting helped Pine-Bluff to take a 37-34 lead into halftime. Iowa State never led in the first half.

A Tyler Harris’ three pointer less than a minute into the second half gave Iowa State it three first lead for ISU, helping Iowa State open the second half on a 12-3 run.

It was all Cyclones for the rest of the game.

Iowa State made up for its low first half numbers with a top-level 59.4 shooting percentage in the second half. Iowa State shot 8-14 from deep in the second half, with Memphis transfer Tyler Harris knocking down three of his four attempts.

Jalen Coleman-Lands led all scorers in his Cyclone debut with 17 points, four rebounds and two steals. 

Harris got into double figures as well, scoring 14 points in his Cyclone debut. Harris shot 4-8 from three point range to start his season.

Rasir Bolton, one of the few returning faces for Iowa State, got close to a triple-double in his first game of the season. Bolton ended the day with 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Freshman Darlinstone Dubar played 22 minutes in his first collegiate game and had seven points off the bench.

Iowa State returns to action against South Dakota State on Wednesday in Hilton Coliseum.