Feb. 5, 2010
Box Score
The Upper Iowa men's basketball team opened a pivotal weekend in the Northern Sun Conference with a rematch against the Marauders of the University of Mary. The Marauders used a late 15-0 run to take the first meeting when the two teams met a month ago in Bismarck, N.D. U-Mary entered the game as the #5 team in the latest NCAA Central Region poll.
The Peacocks used a 12-5 advantage in second chance points thanks to 12 offensive rebounds. Upper Iowa got a huge effort from Chris Sullivan off the bench; the junior grabbed five offensive rebounds in fourteen minutes. The home team also registered a 29-0 advantage in bench points. The Peacocks fans saw twelve of the thirteen young men that touched the floor put marks in the scorebook. Upper Iowa held on for a thrilling six point win, 71-65, to improve to 10-11 overall and move back to .500 in the NSIC at 7-7.
The Marauders opened the game with a quick 7-0 run, but the Peacocks were quick to rally and tied the score at 7-7. After U-Mary crept out to a 14-9 lead at the midway point of the first half, back-to-back scores by Tucker Wentzien and Brad Arnold pulled Upper Iowa within one, 14-13. UIU tied the game and took the lead, 21-20, at the five minute mark when Brad Burgus stepped to the line and hit a pair of free throws. Sullivan gave the Peacocks their largest lead of the half, 32-27, with two more free throws with less than a minute to play. U-Mary scored the final points of the half to cut the margin to three, 32-29, as the teams headed to the locker rooms.
Five minutes into the second half, Upper Iowa was holding onto their three-point advantage, 37-34, but a quick 10-0 run gave the home team some breathing room. The Peacock run was fueled by five points from Devin Eighmey and a three-point play by Mike Lafrenz and it gave UIU a 47-34 lead with 11:19 to play.
The Marauders began to chip away at the Peacock lead over the next five minutes using back-to-back three pointers by Danny Sandvig and Jordan Wilhelm to cut the gap to three points, 52-49. U-Mary got even closer, 52-51, on a pair of free throws from the hand of Eric Erdmann, but Wentzien gave Upper Iowa an answer with a jumper at the elbow to restore the three-point lead. The UIU score was the first in nearly three minutes of game action.
The Peacock offense continued to heat up with some big baskets as Keith Steffeck hit a three-pointer and Wentzien scored on a follow-up dunk. A pair of free throws by Jake Hughes put Upper Iowa ahead, 63-57, but Anthony Moody hit his third trifecta of the game to pull the visitors within three. UIU's Matt Lesan and Moody exchanged buckets to keep the difference at three, 65-62, with under a minute to play.
Hughes and Lesan each stepped back to the line for a pair hitting all four to give UIU a seven-point lead, 69-62, with 16 seconds on the clock. U-Mary would not go quietly as Cameron Lee knocked in a long ball, but Hughes, a freshman, calmly stepped back to the line to hit another two free throws for the final points of the game to preserve the win for Upper Iowa, 71-65.
Steffeck led UIU with 12 points, while Lesan added 10 and Hughes and Wentzien each netted 8. Sullivan was top among the Peacocks on the glass with 7 rebounds.
The Peacocks will return to Dorman Gym tomorrow evening for a match up with the Wolves of Northern State University. NSU and UIU will tip at approximately 8 p.m. after the women's game.
