Distractions were everywhere for No. 13 Iowa State

AMES - Distractions were everywhere for No. 13 Iowa State. The one-game suspension of senior guard Bryce Dejean-Jones, the win at Iowa and taking on a 2-7 team was the perfect formula for a hangover.

Even though the Cyclones took their lumps early, a late first half run carried over into the second to push them to an 88-78 win against Southern on Sunday in Hilton Coliseum.

ISU Coach Fred Hoiberg didn't see the sense of urgency from his team that he wanted to coming out of the gates.

'Our pace was brutal early on when we weren't getting it out quick, we weren't running the lanes, our rim runner wasn't flattening out the floor,” Hoiberg said. 'Just all of the little things that you do that makes you a good offensive team.”

Iowa State (8-1) felt a bit stuck in the mud from the get go. The Cyclones were assessed a technical foul for a player dunking during warm-ups, which got the Jaguars jump-started to their 13-5 lead.

Southern's Adrian Rodgers also found a lot of confidence early, scoring 17 first-half points on 7-for-11 shooting. Iowa State found itself down 29-21 roughly 12 minutes into the game, and junior Georges Niang, who finished with 18 points and four assists, could feel the hangover in full effect.

'Probably thinking our ... doesn't stink,” Niang said. 'We were probably out there thinking we were better than we are and they punched us in the mouth, so credit to Southern. They did a good job of getting in us and making us play the type of basketball we don't like to play.”

From Southern's 29-21 lead with 8:16 to go in the first half, Iowa State responded with a 41-10 run - which included an 18-0 run in the first half - spanning 16:07. The Jaguars drew within 10 points with 1:16 to go, but the ISU run to begin the half proved to be too much.

With Iowa State's aspirations set beyond the regular season, Hoiberg said the chance to play games essentially back-to-back with little time for preparation gives the team the feel of tournament play.

'It's a learning opportunity for us,” Hoiberg said.

The win against Southern also marked the return of Dejean-Jones, who served his one-game suspension against the Hawkeyes on Friday. He finished with 18 points and six rebounds, following his arrest on three misdemeanor charges early Thursday morning.

Dejean-Jones began the ISU postgame news conference by apologizing to teammates, coaches, the university, neighbors and the police for his actions, saying a lesson has certainly been learned. He watched his teammates' win against Iowa from the hotel room, knowing he never wants to put them in that position again.

'First off, I was just hurt that I put my team in a situation where I couldn't be out there with them,” Dejean-Jones said. 'But I was in the hotel cheering my teammates the whole way and I'm glad they came out with a victory.”

Next up for Iowa State is the Big Four Classic in Des Moines on Saturday. The Cyclones are set to take on Drake with tipoff slated for 4 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena.

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