Upper Iowa traveled west to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for a Northern Sun match up with the Vikings of Augustana tonight. The Peacocks got a big game from their senior leader Matt Lesan, but 12 first half turnovers led directly to 21 points for the Vikings. Augustana claimed a 26 point advantage at halftime, and although UIU outscored their hosts in the second half, the gap proved to be too much to overcome. The Peacocks dropped the NSIC affair 97-77.

 

While UIU shot 50%, Augustana was hitting on all cylinders in the first half as they poured in 58 points thanks to 76% shooting. The home team made more shots in the first half (19) than the visitors attempted (18). Upper Iowa trailed by four, 16-12, seven minutes into the contest, but Augustana outscored their guests 20-5 over the next six minutes to open up a nineteen-point lead. The Vikings continued to push their advantage and finished the half with a 58-32 lead.

 

UIU scored the first seven points of the second half, but Augie answered with a 20-6 run to reach their largest lead of the night, 78-45. The Peacocks outscored the Vikings 9-2 over the final three minutes to close the final margin at twenty, 97-77. After the high number of turnovers in the first half, the Peacocks controlled the ball in the second and only turned it over four times.

 

Matt Lesan led all scorers in the game with 27 points on 7 of 12 shooting. The senior guard hit 4 of his 6 attempts from behind the arc and 9 of his 10 shots at the charity stripe. Tucker Wentzien netted 12 points and pulled down 6 rebounds. Ten other Peacock players scored in the game, but none scored more than six points.

 

The Vikings’ were led by Cameron McCaffrey and Cody Schilling, who each scored 24 points on 7 of 10 shooting. McCaffrey hit four trifectas in the contest, and the pair combined to hit 15 of 17 free throws and dish out 9 assists.

 

The Peacocks (5-11, 4-8 NSIC) will travel into Nebraska for tomorrow’s game against the Wildcats of Wayne State College. Upper Iowa and Wayne State are set to tip at 6 p.m. tomorrow following the women’s game.