Box Score Records
Upper Iowa (0-3) || University of Missouri – St. Louis (2-1)
Recap
Head Men's Basketball Coach
Brooks McKowen has seen his team play very well at times, but the Peacocks have also struggled at times, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Thursday night marked a turnaround for UIU. With last weekend's performance on their minds, the Peacocks used a stifling defense and a a sharp shooting performance from the perimeter to take a 40-36 lead into the break. But that momentum faded as a sluggish second half ultimately doomed the Peacocks in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Peacocks fell to their hosts – the Tritons of the University of Missouri – St. Louis – despite having four player finish in double-figures. The Peacocks were outscored, 43-29, in the second half as the Tritons earned their second victory of the season, 79-69, on their home court.
The loss drops UIU to 0-3 this season, but McKowen says these things take time. He saw what he wanted to in the first half – the Peacocks played with an intensity in which he says will win games. After a back-and-forth opening eight minutes, UIU started to take the game over.
Bo Pagel hit a trey to push the Peacocks out in front by six, 20-14, with 11:16 remaining in the first half. Then,
David Smith and
Josh Weeber sandwiched a Triton bucket. Two minutes later,
Jimmy Roth converted a three-point play after being fouled on a layup attempt.
Joey Woods then gave the Peacocks their largest lead of the game at nine points with a fast-break layup off a long rebound.
Despite three-straight points from the Tritons, UIU kept its nine-point lead, 32-23, at the 7:20 mark thanks to a three-ball from
Jordan Hay. Woods hit a bucket and converted two of his five free throws in the game to keep UIU out in front by nine a minute later. That's when UMSL mounted its comeback.
The Tritons finished the half on a 13-8 run and trailed by just four at the break.
UIU responded with a good start in the second half taking a five-point lead, 45-40, two minutes into the final period thanks to a layup from Smith. Yet, that momentum faded relatively quickly. The Peacocks started to miss their shots and the defense started to give up easy buckets on the other end.
The Tritons used an inside-out gameplan and went on a momentum-shifting 25-9 run over the next nine minutes. A free throw from UMSL's leading scorer Aareon Smith gave the Tritons a 65-54 lead with 9:23 left in the game. During that stretch, UIU was just 4-for-12 from the field and turned the ball over three times.
After a stellar first half, the Peacocks shot just 34 percent from the floor in the final period, which never allowed them to catch back up. UIU came within four points of the Tritons twice in the final five minutes, but couldn't tie the game up.
Woods and Weeber led UIU in scoring as both managed 11 points, while Roth and Smith each finished with ten. Woods has now scored in double-figures in all three of the Peacocks games, leading UIU in scoring twice. The redshirt-senior also added two assists and two rebounds to his stat line and went 5-of-5 from the charity stripe, but did turn the ball over four times.
The Peacocks have seen good things from their freshman class in 2013 as Weeber leads all scorers with 46 combined points and Roth sits in third with 34. Yet, the defense has been a sight for sore eyes.
UIU has allowed a twenty-point scorer in all three of their games this year including their matchup against FHSU last Sunday in which two Tigers finished with 20 or more points. On Thursday, Aareon Smith led all players with 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a 9-for-11 clip from the free throw line. Smith found the net consistenly in the second half and helped the Tritons outrebound UIU, 41-36, which led to a 16-point advantage for UMSL on second chances in the final 20 minutes of play.
The Peacocks will look to fix some of those problems and put a complete game together as their non-conference schedule winds down. UIU still has three games left before the NSIC season, but only one of those is at home.
UIU Standouts
Woods (11 points), Weeber (11 points, 5 rebounds), Smith (10 points, team-high 7 rebounds), Roth (10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists),
Jordan Hay (9 points),
Grant Lang (9 points, team-high 3 steals).
Sounding Off
Head Coach Brooks McKowen After the Game…
First Half Thoughts… "The guys came out with the right work ethic and the right energy in the first half. We got after them defensively and we were very aggressive at the rim. We still gave up some easy buckets and we missed some shots, but I'm not mad about that. We're making a lot of progress. We took what the defense gave us and our guys did a good job getting into the paint and getting to the free throw line."
Second Half Thoughts… "They switched up their defense and our offense became stagnate. Our guys were hesitant with their shots and we stopped being aggressive at the rim. For us, we just have to understand that we're going to miss shots – we still have to take them though. When you're a shooter, you have to step up to that line and just shoot. The biggest thing that I was disappointed about was that we gave up way too many easy buckets on the other end. Our defense and our communication wasn't where it needed to be to win this game."
Adjustments Needed… "Our guys need to come out and execute two complete periods. We've done it half by half, but we need to put it all together now. That's what is going to make us successful this season. You never want to start 0-3 – that's not what you expect. We just have to continue to get better after every game. We've got a lot of new guys playing this year, so it takes time. The guys are putting in the effort and as long as we're improving, we're going to turn it around."
Up Next
The Peacocks will look forward to facing the Tritons again as the teams will meet in Fayette this Tuesday night. The rematch will be Upper Iowa's 2013 home opener and the Peacocks' only non-conference game at home this season. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Dorman Gym.
