Box Score
Final Score: Upper Iowa - 61, No. 20 Minnesota State - 60 - NSIC South
One week after
Tucker Wentzien drained a last-second, game-winning, reverse-layup against No. 9 Winona State,
Jake Hughes stuck another dagger in the heart of a Top-25 team. Hughes received the in-bounds pass just in front of his bench with 5.1 seconds showing on the game clock. He used a high-screen from Wentzien to break free of his defender before driving to the right side of the paint as time clicked down. Hughes then released the ball - a high-arching soft-touched shot off the glass. He found nothing but net and gave the Peacocks a 61-60 lead with just 0.4 seconds left.
A last-gasp Hail-Mary by the home team failed as Hughes intercepted the Maverick pass at halfcourt and sent UIU home with a 3-0 conference record and the Peacocks' second victory over a top-25 team in the Division II rankings in as many weeks.
It was a severe case of déjà vu for Peacock fans who watched UIU upset the Warriors last Saturday night. This time though, it was Hughes who controlled Upper Iowa's destiny.
"I'm just so proud of Jake," head coach Brian Dolan said afterwards. "To see how far he's come in his four years here - it's just special. Every game he's played in, he's started, and he knows 200 times more than he knew as a freshman. I'm just proud of our guys."
The victory snapped a 14-game skid to MSU since the Peacocks moved to Division II play before the 2007-08 season, but it would not have been possible without a very fast start.
It seemed as if everyone in the offense had a hot hand as five Peacocks scoring in the opening ten minutes, but it was two early 3-pointers from
Sam Elgin that gave the Peacocks an 20-2 lead over the Mavericks with just 11:55 remaining before halftime. UIU's defense did its part to hold the Mavericks scoreless through the first five minutes of action, before MSU found it's rhythm.
Assem Marei - the Mavericks big post - went to work against Wentzien and
Jake Shonka in the lane and responded with 10 of MSU's 31 points in the first half. Wentzien matched blow for blow with Marei, though, as the Solon, Iowa native also had 10 points at the break.
At the half, UIU had outshot the Mavericks, 51 to 40 percent and had five more field goals than the home squad (15-10).
Both offenses were slow to get going in the second half, but it was MSU that struck first. The Mavericks went on an 18-11 run to start the second stanza and took their largest lead of the night, 49-46, with 11:24 remaining in the game.
UIU responded with a 9-6 run of their own and at the 6:01 mark the Peacocks had a 5-point lead, 57-52. Marei, Gage Wooten and Jimmy Whitehead all helped the Mavericks bounce back and tie the game at 59-59 with just over a minute left.
The MSU defense then forced back-to-back UIU turnovers and the outcome looked bleak. On the second turnover, Marei was fouled and he made one-of-two free throws to give MSU its final lead of the night, 60-59.
With just 5.1 seconds on the clock, a calm, cool and charismatic Hughes looked his teammates in the eye and took the game over. The senior hit the game-winning shot like he had ice in his veins.
His layup with just .4 seconds on the clock helped the Peacocks overcome MSU, 61-60. Upper Iowa improves to 5-2 overall with the victory and 3-0 in the conference. To make that 3-0 mark even more impressive, those three wins came on the road and two of them were over No. 9 Winona State and # 20 MSU.
Wentzien led all Peacock scorers with 17 total points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Elgin finished second on the team with 12 points. Elgin also snagged 7 rebounds, dished out two assists and added a block in 33 minutes of action. Hughes, who collected two Maverick steals and grabbed five rebounds, finished 2-of-3 from the floor for six total points - no two more important than his game-winning layup.
The Peacocks will look to keep their current three-game winning streak alive next Friday inside Dorman Gym in Fayette as they host the Wayne State Wildcats. Tip-off for that game is set for 8 PM.
Newspaper Box Score
Upper Iowa vs Minnesota State - 12/08/12 8 p.m. at Mankato, Minn.
UPPER IOWA 61, MINNESOTA STATE 60
UPPER IOWA (5-2 (3-0 NSIC))
Wentzien,Tucker 7-14 3-4 17; Elgin,Sam 4-11 2-2 12; Hughes,Jake 3-4 0-1 6; Woods, Joey 3-5 0-1 6; Pagel, Bo 2-3 0-0 6; Lang, Grant 2-8 0-0 4; Shonka, Jake 2-3 0-1 4; Smith, David 2-4 0-0 4; Hay, Jordan 1-1 0-0 2; Collins, Cedric 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-53 5-9 61.
MINNESOTA STATE (6-1 (2-1 NSIC))
Marei, Assem 5-11 7-11 17; Wooten, Gage 3-7 3-4 10; Whitehead, Jimmy 4-8 0-1 9; Monaghan, Zach 2-9 2-3 7; Brown, Lucas 3-3 1-1 7; Williams, Jarvis 2-6 1-2 5; Romashko, Zach 1-7 0-0 3; Hanks, Alex 0-1 2-2 2; O'Brien, Connor 0-1 0-0 0; Moten, Jaymeson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-54 16-24 60.
Upper Iowa.................... 35 26 - 61
Minnesota State............... 31 29 - 60
3-point goals--Upper Iowa 4-14 (Elgin,Sam 2-6; Pagel, Bo 2-3; Lang, Grant 0-3; Hughes,Jake 0-1; Wentzien,Tucker 0-1), Minnesota State 4-18 (Whitehead, Jimmy 1-2; Wooten, Gage 1-4; Monaghan, Zach 1-5; Romashko, Zach 1-6; Hanks, Alex 0-1). Fouled out--Upper Iowa-None, Minnesota State-None. Rebounds--Upper Iowa 34 (Elgin,Sam 7), Minnesota State 37 (Marei, Assem 12). Assists--Upper Iowa 8 (Elgin,Sam 2), Minnesota State 7 (Monaghan, Zach 4). Total fouls--Upper Iowa 20, Minnesota State 12. Technical fouls--Upper Iowa-None, Minnesota State-None. A-1102
Minnesota State ranked #20 in the latest NABC poll.
