Randy Peterson

rpeterson@dmreg.com

AMES, Ia. -- Leave it to Fred Hoiberg to find something wrong with a 67-point basketball blowout.

"We gave up too many open-rhythm threes, especially in the first half," Iowa State's coach said after his 14th-ranked team smoked Viterbo 115-48 in an exhibition at Hilton Coliseum Friday night.

He was the only one who seemed to mind a defensive lapse or two, however, as a crowd announced to be 13,963 was entertained from start to finish. Students started lining up two hours before the game, to get a peek at what many are predicting to be Hoiberg's best since he became coach in the 2010-11 season.

"That's straight love," Naz Long said.

He was part of a starting lineup that made 22 of 33 shots, including 7 of 12 from deep against the overmatched opponent from La Crosse, Wis.

"When Naz is in a good rhythm, it's tough for him to miss," team leader Georges Niang said.

Friday was the first Iowa State game for a handful of players, including Bryce Dejean-Jones. The UNLV transfer scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds in 18 minutes. He also had three steals while playing an all-around solid game.

"It exciting to finally experience Hilton Magic," said Dejean-Jones, whose highlight moment was a reverse dunk with 15 minutes left in the first half — on a play that started with his steal on the defensive end.

"First time I've done that," Dejean-Jones said.

It was tough to take much away from this game, against an opponent whose tallest player was 6-foot-6. Nonetheless, Dejean-Jones showed that he could be a mismatch in many games.

At 6-6, he can handle the ball nearly as well as point guard Monte Morris. He can also slash to the basket. He's long-armed, which means he can swat away passes headed toward the interior.

"Defensively all-around — I'm getting better in that area," Dejean-Jones said.

The season starts for real at 7 p.m. Friday against Oakland at Hilton, and there's no reason to tinker. Friday's starting lineup of Niang, Dejean-Jones, Morris, Long and Dustin Hogue were above solid — and unstoppable when forcing a tempo Viterbo couldn't handle. The Cyclones' points included 24 on fast breaks.

"Overall offensively, we played very well, and we played unselfishly," Hoiberg said. "Our guys really shared the ball — 26 assists, is a pretty good number."

Freshmen Clayton Custer and 7-1 Georgios Tsalmpouris played well. And Long — he's every bit the 3-point shooting ace he was a season ago.

"I told the new guys that they'll remember this night forever," Hoiberg said.

VITERBO (48)—Drummond 0 0-0 0, Diciaula 2 0-0 5, Poehls 2 0-0 4, Shepard 3 2-2 9, Engelstad 2 0-0 5, Fleishmann 4 0-0 8, Kennedy 0 9-9 0, Kastenschmidt 0 0-0 0,Bamke 1 2-2 4, Allbaugh 2 0-2 4, Dreger 1 0-0 2, Hemauer 2 0-0 5, Johnson 0 0-0 0,Haberman 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 4-6.

IOWA STATE (115)—Morris 2 1-1 5, Dejean-Jones 6 1-2 13, Long 6 0-0 17,Hogue 3 3-7 9, Niang 5 0-0 12, Custer 2 2-2 8, Dorsey-Walker 5 4-6 17, Stensland 1 0-0 3, Jackson 4 2-2 10, Tsalmpouris 1 5-6 7, Edozie 6 2-3 14. Totals 41 20-29.

Halftime—Iowa State 55, Viterbo (Wis.) 26. 3-point goals—Viterbo 4-30 (Dicaiaula1, Shepard 1, Engelstad 1, Hemauer 1), Iowa State 13-23 (Long 5, Dorsey-Walker 3,Niang 2, Custer 2, Stensland 1). Rebounds—Viterbo 27 (Shepard 4), Iowa State (Edozie11). Assists—Viterbo 10 (Diciaula 4), Iowa State 26 (Morris 5). Fouls—Viterbo 23, Iowa State 10. Attendance—13,963.