The Southwest Minnesota State and Upper Iowa men’s basketball teams met for the first of two meetings this season in Fayette tonight. Both offenses struggled through the first ten minutes of the game, but once the lids came off the baskets, they put on quite an entertaining show for the fans in Dorman Gym. Both teams hit buzzer-beater three-pointers, but Upper Iowa’s came in overtime as Dan Bestul lifted the Peacocks to a 75-74 victory.

 

Midway through the first half, the two teams were tied 8-8. The offenses began to pick up, but the score remained tied 19-19 as the clock showed 4:55. An 11-3 run by the Mustangs over the next three and a half minutes was fueled by Jordan Miller and Scott Roehl. Dan Bestul hit his second trifecta of the half for the final points on the scoreboard as UIU hit the halftime break trailing 30-25.

 

Bestul paced the Peacocks with 10 points at the break, while Miller led the Mustangs with 9.

 

Upper Iowa used the first five minutes of the second half to claw back to the tenth tie of the game, 39-39, led by eight points from Tucker Wentzien. Minutes later, a Sam Elgin three-pointer from the left wing gave the home team the lead, 48-46, with 12:12 on the clock. 

 

The Peacocks continued to push their advantage and extended their lead to eight, 58-50, with under nine minutes to play. The 10-4 run was highlighted by seven points from Bestul. The Mustangs slowly chipped at the gap outscoring the men in blue 10-2 over the next six minutes to tie the game at 60-60. Wentzien broke the tie at the charity stripe as he converted both attempts with 1:43 on the clock.

 

The lead remained at two, 62-60, with 36.7 on the clock when SMSU called a timeout to set an offense. Tucker Wentzien blocked the Mustangs first attempt, but Vinard Birch came down with the rebound and was fouled on his shot. Birch stepped to the line and made one of two. Wentzien came down with the board and was fouled immediately. 

 

The sophomore post stepped to the line with 10.2 on the clock and calmly hit both free throws to put UIU ahead 64-61. The Mustangs pushed the ball quickly and Miller came free for a triple on the right wing; the shot went through and tied the game. The Peacocks’ final half court shot missed and the game moved to overtime.

 

SMSU came out strong in overtime scoring six of the first eight points, but two Bestul free throws cut the Mustang lead back to two, 70-68. Wentzien hit his eighth and ninth free throws to tie the contest, but Roehl quickly answered to put the visitors up two. Jake Hughes hit a tough jumper off the glass with 30 seconds to play to tie the game for the eighteenth time.

 

Taylor Huseby got a pass from Matt Zager in the paint and finished a contested shot inside with just 5.1 on the clock to give the Mustangs a 74-72 lead. Hughes took the entry pass and pushed over the midcourt line finding Bestul along the right side. The senior left hander lined up the game winner and deposited it for a 75-74 Peacock victory.

 

The loss for SMSU was the second straight for the Mustangs in the final seconds. Last night, Winona State hit a half court shot at the buzzer to win by two.

 

Bestul led all scorers with 24 points including four three-pointers. Wentzien added 19 points and 8 rebounds. Both Matt Lesan and Hughes handed out 4 assists for the night.

 

The Peacocks (3-6, 2-3 NSIC) will wait until the New Year for their next game. Upper Iowa will host Northern State and U-Mary on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 1 and 2. Both games are scheduled to tip at approximately 8 p.m. following the women’s games.