Box Score

The Peacock men’s basketball team trailed the #9 Warriors of Winona State University by twelve points with less than five minutes to play in tonight’s Northern Sun Conference opener in Winona, Minn.  Upper Iowa launched an assault on their hosts over the final five minutes and used a 17-6 run to pull within one point of the Warriors.  Tucker Wentzien pulled down a loose ball in the final seconds and put up a high-arcing reverse layup that kissed off the glass and fell through the net at the buzzer to give Upper Iowa (3-2, 1-0 NSIC) the 64-63 victory. 
 
The win is UIU’s second since moving up to NCAA Division II prior to the 2005-06 season.  The Peacocks have faced the Warriors (6-2, 0-1 NSIC) sixteen times, but have now won two of the last four meetings.  The victory was also Upper Iowa’s first at McCown Gymnasium in Winona.
 
After the Peacocks took a 33-32 lead into the locker room at halftime, Winona State turned up their defense and held Upper Iowa to just 12 points through the first 15 minutes.  Upper Iowa’s defense was stout as well holding the Warriors to 11 points through the opening nine minutes of the half as the teams were tied 43-43 with 11:27 to play.  WSU used a 14-2 run over the next six and a half minute to move out to a 57-45 lead with 4:47 showing on the clock.
 
“We were playing really tight in the second half,” said Head Coach Brian Dolan.  “We need to understand that we are good enough to win games like these.  We challenged the guys to play more freely and they responded over the final five minutes.”
 
In the final five minutes, the Peacocks turned to their senior post and leading scorer, Wentzien.  The Solon, Iowa product got the ball rolling with a jumper and a pair of free throws to cut the gap to eight, 57-49.  After a Winona bucket, UIU continued to claw back in on a layup by Jake Hughes and two at the charity stripe from Joey Woods slimming the margin to six, 59-53, with under three to play.
 
The Warriors got another jumper, but back-to-back buckets from Wentzien and Woods pulled the deficit down to four points, 61-57.  Winona State made it a two possession game with a pair of free throws and led 63-57 with 31 seconds to play, but Wentzien kept the Peacock faithful’s hope alive with a three-pointer from the deep corner pulling the visitors within three.
 
Upper Iowa forced a Warrior turnover under the basket and Hughes, who came up with the steal, was fouled with 18 seconds on the clocks.  The Peacock point guard hit both freebies and UIU trailed by just one. 
“We told our guys that we didn’t want to foul in the backcourt when Jake (Hughes) hit the second free throw,” said Dolan.  “We were looking for aggressive double teams, but we weren’t going to foul until the frontcourt.  We executed and made our own break when their player traveled at midcourt.”
 
The travel came with ten seconds to play and gave Upper Iowa the opportunity to shoot for the win.  Woods took the first crack at it, but had his jumper denied by the Warrior defense and sent out of bounds with five ticks on the clock.  A slashing Bo Pagel looked as if he might capture the game winner, but the ball went harmlessly out of bounds under the basket off a Warrior foot with two seconds to play.
 
On the inbounds, Woods caught the ball at the right elbow and drove to the hoop.  On the way up Woods lost the ball, but Wentzien, who was cutting in to get into position for a tip in, snatched the loose ball out of the air and went under the hoop letting go of a high-arcing reverse layup that kissed off the window.  The ball dropped through the net as the buzzer sounded and Upper Iowa had pulled off the upset.
 
“We wanted to get Joey (Woods) and Tucker (Wentzien) in a two-man game on the final play.  Joey went up for a tough shot and lost it, but Tucker made a great play.  Tonight’s win was a combination of executing the game plan and making plays when opportunities presented themselves.  We made our breaks and I am proud of our guys.”
 
Wentzien led the Peacocks with 17 points, 11 of which came in the final five minutes of the contest; the Peacock post also grabbed 8 rebounds and had two blocks.  Woods followed closely behind with 15 points and added a trio of steals, while Sam Elgin and Hughes also joined the pair in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.  Pagel and Grant Lang were the only other UIU players to score netting 7 and 4 points.  Hughes dished out 5 assists for the Peacocks.
 
UIU will remain on the road for their next two NSIC games.  The Peacocks will travel to Concordia University, St. Paul next Friday to face the Golden Bears at 8 p.m. and then head west to Minnesota State University, Mankato on Saturday to battle the Mavericks at 6 p.m.