Upper Iowa was back on the road Friday night when they rolled into Marshall, Minn. for a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference rematch with the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State University. The Mustangs won the close matchup, 72-66, to split the season series between the two teams after Upper Iowa defeated SMSU earlier this season in Fayette.

The home crowd fueled Southwest Minnesota State to control much of the first half. Upper Iowa's Tucker Wentzien make the first bucket of the game but the Mustangs rallied and controlled the remaining 17 minutes of the first half as SMSU took a 34-31 lead into the locker rooms at halftime.

Senior Matt Lesan led UIU at halftime with 10 points while Alex Kramer added six. Upper Iowa shot 10-of-24 (47.6%) while SMSU netted 15 of their 24 shots which included an 0-for-6 clip from beyond the three-point arc.

The two teams continued to play close in the second half and the Peacocks would tie the contest on four separate occasions with the last coming with 1:41 remaining in the contest when Lesan hit two free throws to tie the matchup at 64-64. Unfortunately, Southwest Minnesota State went on an 8-2 run to close out the game and won the contest, 72-66.

Lesan led all scorers with 20 points while Dan Bestul finished with nine points and Jake Hughes registered seven. The Peacocks outrebounded SMSU 31-23 in the game but committed five more turnovers.

Jordan Miller and Scott Roehl each scored 11 points for Southwest Minnesota State in the victory.

The Peacocks will complete their current four game road trip tomorrow night when they visit Mankato, Minn. to play the #12-ranked Mavericks of Minnesota State. Tipoff inside the Taylor Center is set for 6 p.m.