Box Score
The Peacocks shot well in the first half of tonight's non-conference match up with the Bulldogs of Truman State, but had to hold off the home team's second half rally for a three-point win, 70-67. The victory gives Upper Iowa an early season 2-0 record, while Truman falls to 0-2.
UIU hit over 55% of their shots in the first while moving out to a seven-point, 38-31, lead into halftime.
Tucker Wentzien got the Peacocks off to a hot start with a dunk and three-pointer in the first minute of action.
The Peacock offense continued to fire away taking a 21-12 lead nine minutes into the game.
Bo Pagel and
Sam Elgin both joined Wentzien with five early points.
Upper Iowa still led by nine, 38-29, with just over two minutes to play as
Joey Woods converted on a jumper. The Bulldogs answered with a bucket and then the teams went silent over the final two minutes.
A three-pointer by Elgin and another dunk from Wentzien to open the second half gave Upper Iowa their biggest lead of the night, 43-31.
Truman State began to chip away at the margin and slowly climbed back into the game. The Bulldogs cut the lead to four points, 49-45, with under twelve minutes to play after outscoring the Peacocks 12-6.
Upper Iowa answered back and pushed their advantage back to nine points, 56-47, when Elgin hit another trifecta with 7:23 showing on the clock.
A quick 7-0 run got the home team right back into the game fueled by a pair of Peacock turnovers. Truman State cut the gap to one point on two occassions inside the final minute, but Upper Iowa converted 10 of 12 free throws in the final two minutes to survive the home team's final push.
Three Peacocks reached double figures on the night led by Elgin's 16 points. Woods and Wentzien both added 13 points, while Pagel scored 9 and
Jake Hughes chipped in 8.
Jake Shonka came off the bench to pull down a team-high 8 rebounds and Elgin grabbed 7 off the glass. Hughes and Woods handed out 4 and 3 assists, respectively.
Upper Iowa will now head back to the practice floor for a week before heading to Maryville, Mo. The Peacocks will playing at the Northwest Missouri State Classic against the host Bearcats on Saturday, Nov. 24, and the Mules of Central Missouri on Sunday, Nov. 25.
