Jan. 2, 2009

Final Stats

Upper Iowa's men's basketball team came out on fire against the Marauders of the University of Mary. The Peacocks held a 34-21 halftime lead after making 14 of their 19 attempts in the first half. UIU's 74 percent shooting included 3 of 5 hits from the three-point line. UIU out rebounded UM 17 to 6 in the first twenty minutes.

As play opened in the second, U-Mary began to slowly chip away with the Upper Iowa lead. The Marauders trailed 41-31 with 12:54 to play after a lay-up. The visitors rallied with a 10-2 run to cut the margin to 43-39 midway through the half. The teams continued to play evenly as the distance was still just four points, 48-44 with 7:01 to play. An inside jumper by Nick Kramer, a Matt Lesan lay-in, a free throw by Nick Kramer, and a lay-up by Alex Kramer gave the Peacocks a 55-44 lead with just under five minutes to play.

U-Mary drained a three-pointer to cut the Peacock lead back to 55-47 at the 3:46 mark. UIU began to put the game away over the next two minutes as they pushed the lead to ten, 59-49, with 1:36 on the clock. In the end, the Peacocks won their first NSIC game of the year, 62-51.

The Peacocks were led by sophomore guard Matt Lesan. The Solon, Iowa native scored 23 points. Alex and Nick Kramer chipped in 9 and 8 points respectively and Chris Sullivan added 9 off the bench. Sullivan was one point shy of a double-double as he pulled down 10 rebounds to lead UIU. Dan Bestul handed out 4 assists. The Peacocks dominated play inside to the tune of a 36-20 advantage in points in the paint.

UIU (2-9, 1-4 NSIC) will return to Prochaska Court tomorrow evening as they host the Wolves of Northern State. The Peacocks and Wolves will tip-off at approximately 8 p.m. following the women's game.