Men's Basketball Blows Out Hartford, 83-54

AMES, Iowa - Providence transfer Marcus Jefferson scored 18 points in his Iowa State debut and the Cyclones shot 62 percent in beating Hartford 83-54 Monday night.

Iowa State took control with an early 14-0 run in its season opener and Hartford (0-2) never threatened. Still, it was far from a flawless performance by the Cyclones, who returned just one starter from last season's Big 12 championship team.

Both teams were sloppy. Iowa State committed 23 fouls, missed 11 of 31 free throws and suffered through a seven-minute scoring lapse in the second half.

Omar Bynum's dunk off a half-court pass from Jake Sullivan gave Iowa State a 57-25 lead with 15:49 left. Iowa State then went stale and managed only two field goals until Jefferson dunked with 7:39 remaining. That sparked a 9-0 run that made it 73-42.

Sullivan, Iowa State's only returning starter, hit his first three 3-point shots and scored 16 points. Shane Power added 15 and Tyray Pearson scored 12 for the Cyclones.

Shaun Swan's 14 points led Hartford, which shot just 28.8 percent (19-of-66) and had 10 shots blocked. Pierre Johnson added 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks.

Pearson got three baskets inside and Bynum scored on a crowd-pleasing finger roll to key Iowa State's early run, which broke a 4-4 tie and sent the Cyclones into an 18-4 lead.

Two 3-pointers by Power and one by Sullivan helped Iowa State increase its lead to 30-9. Hartford did not reach double figures until Todd Jones hit a hook shot to make it 30-11 with 6:19 left in the first half.

An 11-1 burst that included five points by Jefferson took the lead to 45-16, and Iowa State led 47-20 at halftime.

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Players Mentioned

Omar Bynum

Omar Bynum

Marcus Jefferson

Marcus Jefferson

Tyray Pearson

Tyray Pearson

Shane Power

Shane Power

Jake Sullivan

Jake Sullivan

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