Ames, Iowa ? Northern Colorado might have provided the blueprint on how to defend Iowa State: Play a tight 2-3 zone and dare the Cyclones to shoot from the perimeter.

It worked for a long time Friday night before Iowa State finally pulled away late to beat the winless Bears, 57-39, in the first round of the Cyclone Challenge.

“There will be people who look at that tape and play zone, no question about it,” Iowa State coach Wayne Morgan said.

Still, the Cyclones survived despite shooting 27 percent in the first half and going 4-for-21 from three-point range for the game. Will Blalock returned from a one-game suspension to score 17 points to lead the way, while Jared Homan added 14 points and 11 rebounds.

A 22-2 run in the final 11 1/2 minutes enabled Iowa State (2-0) to avoid what would have been an embarrassing loss and move into tonight’s championship game against Bucknell, a 62-49 winner over Stephen F. Austin.

“There’s a lot of teams out there that are going to zone us this year because we’re not proven three-point shooters,” said Blalock, who was held out of the opener for playing in an unsanctioned summer-league game. “We’ve just got to go out there and prove it.”

It didn’t help that Curtis Stinson shot 3-for-16, including 0-for-9 in the first half. The zone kept him from driving into the lane to make shots or set up his teammates, and with the poor outside shooting, the Cyclones never could loosen that defense.

But they still came up with enough offense at the end after Northern Colorado (0-5) tied the score at 35 on James Randle’s shot with 11:32 left. Homan, a 6-foot-10 senior, made just the second three-pointer of his career to break the tie, and Stinson fired a pass three-fourths the length of the court to Blalock for a layup.

After Kirk Archibeque scored for Northern Colorado, Iowa State ran off the next 15 points to put it away. When Stinson lobbed a pass to the 6-foot Blalock for a dunk that made it 51-37 with 3:35 remaining, the crowd of 9,632 finally had something to roar about.

Northern Colorado's Erik Olson, right, drives against Iowa State's Rahshon Clark in the first half of the Cyclones' 57-39 victory. ISU improved to 2-0 Friday in Ames, Iowa.

“I think our defense was good at times,” Homan said. “I think we did have lapses, but I think that’s what won us the game.”

Northern Colorado shot just 28 percent in the second half, made only one basket in the final 7:45 and finished with 26 turnovers.

During the late run, Northern Colorado’s Michael Gordy was ejected for a flagrant technical foul after tangling with Homan in a battle for a rebound. Sean Taibi led Northern Colorado with 14 points, while Erik Olson had nine points and 10 rebounds.

Late Thursday

Oklahoma 93, High Point 65

Anchorage, Alaska — Kevin Bookout had 15 points and 11 rebounds to help Oklahoma rout High Point late Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout. Drew Lavender added 14 points and seven assists for the Sooners (2-0), who faced No. 22 Washington in the semifinals late Friday night.