March 1, 2008
Box Score
The Peacock men's basketball team traveled to Marshall, Minnesota to face the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State University in the quarterfinals of the Northern Sun Conference Tournament. Upper Iowa entered the game as the sixth seed, while Southwest came in with the third seed. The two teams split the season series as each team won on its home court. The Peacocks shot the ball well in the first half, but 10 turnovers cost the visitors as they went to the break trailing 39-25. Upper Iowa attempted a rally in the second half, but were never able to get closer than nine points. In the end, the Peacocks season came to a close with a 76-63 defeat to the Mustangs.
The Mustangs crept out to a two-point lead over the first seven minutes of the game. An A.J. Adkins three-pointer pulled the Peacocks to the low side of an 11-9 score with 13:11 to play. Southwest scored the next six points as they built their lead to 17-9 just a minute and a half later. The home team continued to extend their lead as the first half progressed. The Mustangs led 27-13 at the 8:14 mark and 37-19 with 2:44 to play in the half. The Peacocks headed to the locker room at halftime trailing 39-25 after outscoring the Mustangs 6-2 in the closing minutes.
After the break, Upper Iowa scored the first five points of the half on a Chris Sullivan lay up and a Neil Gross three-pointer to cut the Mustang lead to nine points, 39-30. The margin bounced between nine and eleven points throughout the first seven minutes of the half. Southwest Minnesota State pushed the lead back to fourteen points with 12:09 to play when Matt Fletcher hit a three-pointer. A Storm Schmitt lay up and a pair of Adkins free throws cut the lead to 10 points, 61-51, with 6:11 to play, but the home team answered immediately with a quick five-point spurt to push the margin back to fifteen points. Upper Iowa was unable to work the deficit back into single digits over the remaining minutes and fell 76-63.
Upper Iowa shot 50% (25-50) from the field for the game, but only 26.7% (4-15) from three. Southwest Minnesota State shot 51.1% (24-47) from the floor and 31.3% (5-16) from beyond the arc. The big difference came at the free throw line where UIU hit 9 of its 12 opportunities, while SMSU made 23 of their 37 attempts including 17 of 29 in the second half.
Adkins, 12 points, and Nick Kramer, 10 points, led the Peacocks in scoring. Matt Lesan netted 9, while Jude Roybal added 8 and Dan Bestul chipped in 7. Bestul and (Nick) Kramer led the Peacocks rebounding efforts with 4 apiece. Roybal dished out 6 assists and Bestul handed out 3. Lesan tallied 3 steals and Adkins recorded 2.
Upper Iowa's season comes to a close with an overall record of 9-19 and a conference finish of sixth place thanks to an 8-10 record in NSIC action. After the 0-11 start, the Peacocks bounced back with a winning record after the holiday break going 9-8. The team will lose two seniors, but with a large crop of freshman seeing valuable minutes... the future looks promising for the Peacock men's basketball program.
