Once again, the Iowa State men’s basketball team started off slow. But once again, the Cyclones came out much stronger in the second half en route to a comfortable win.

That’s been the story of nearly every game in the current seven-game winning streak for coach Steve Prohm’s squad.

However, Prohm and the players know that won’t always fly.

“You can’t devalue winning, but our performance wasn’t very good today,” Prohm said.

There wasn’t much of a student section, which is to be expected when 2-7 (now 2-8) Alcorn State is the opponent for a 5 p.m. tip-off on a Sunday before finals start.

And there wasn’t much incentive in this game, since it appeared to be an easy win on paper. Compared to last game, when in-state rival Iowa came to town and students were camped outside for hours before tip, Sunday’s game was trivial. There was no sense of urgency, and it resulted in a sluggish start.

“I don’t think we played with any energy [in the first half],” said senior guard Donovan Jackson, who led all scorers with 25 points. “I don’t think we were ready to play.”

Just 87 seconds into the game, Prohm was forced to call a timeout after Alcorn State opened up an 8-0 lead.

It was just that kind of night.

The Cyclones shot just 36.7 percent from the floor in the first half, and had more turnovers (seven) than assists (five).

Yet the Cyclones still led, 33-32, at the break.

“In the second half we knew we couldn’t get beat on our floor so we kinda turned it up,” Jackson said.

One of the few bright spots was redshirt freshman forward Cameron Lard.

Lard, who played just 19 minutes off the bench, played hard and it resulted in 15 points and 11 rebounds. Eight of those 11 boards were on the offensive glass.

“He’s really talented,” Prohm said. “A lot of this that he’s doing right now is just that he’s gifted. He’s 6-9, he’s athletic, he runs the floor hard.

“I just looked at these stats and in 19 minutes he gets 15 and 11. We just want to continue to teach him and to coach him the right way.”

Lard also threw down a big dunk at the end of the first half that gave Iowa State the lead heading into the break.

The same goes for Hans Brase, who grabbed nine boards and blocked three shots in 24 minutes off the bench.

“The one thing he does that I think is so important for this team is he can rebound,” Prohm said. “He may not be an out-of-your-area rebounder but he’s a position rebounder.”

While Brase only had five points, he was still a positive contributor, thanks to the aforementioned rebounds and blocks. He also chipped in a pair of assists and a steal.

But while Brase, Jackson and Lard were bright spots, Sunday’s win was more of a learning experience than a celebration.

“With this group this year, I think every game is a teachable moment,” Prohm said. “Every game we have to be locked in and play our best and play the right way if we’re going to come out victorious.

“You can talk about the energy, you can talk about a lot of different things, but our focus with our team has to be good — whether it’s Alcorn State, whether it’s Iowa, our margin for error is [slim].”