Records

Upper Iowa (0-1) || Northwest Missouri State (1-0)

Recap

The Upper Iowa Men's Basketball team got a taste of what the No. 18 team in the country offered and offensively, they hung with them. Defensively it was a different story altogether.
 
The Peacocks gave up 91 points in their season opener as the Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State shot an eye-popping 58-percent from the floor on Saturday afternoon en route to a 91-78 victory over UIU in the first game of the SMSU Mustang Tournament.  UIU falls to 0-1 after the loss, while the Bearcats improve to 1-0 early in the year.
 
The Peacocks were led by Joey Woods who hit 8-of-14 shots from the floor and 2-of-3 free throws to earn a team-high 18 points. Kierre Ogbonna and Grant Lang also finished in double-figures, but unlike the preseason, those were the only three players to score 10 or more points.
 
McKowen, who is used to seeing five or six of his players knock down shots and break the 10-point plateau, watched his Peacocks convert just 4-of-19 three-pointers and turn the ball over 12 times. The Peacocks also totaled just 7 assists – four of which came from Woods – compared to 17 for NWMSU.
 
Despite going a combined 9-for-9 from the free throw line, Bo Pagel and Josh Weeber missed all 11 of their three-point attempts. Lang was the only Peacock who was perfect from downtown as he drained both of his threes.
 
The Peacocks got in an early 7-point hole less than four minutes into the game, but Ogbonna helped UIU climb back into the game with a three and two free throws. Lang then tied the game at 16-16 with one of his two treys.
 
Weeber hit a pair of free throws to ensure an even game at 18-18 with 10:59 left in the period but the Bearcats went on an 11-2 run and took control of the game. They led by 13 points at the half, 44-31, thanks to a 60-percent clip from the field in the opening stanza.
 
The Peacocks never pulled within single digits for the rest of the game, despite a strong second half from Woods.
 
The redshirt-senior scored all of his team-high 18 points in the second half and added three assists.  
 
The Peacocks will look to bounce back quickly as they face the Tigers of Fort Hays State tomorrow afternoon as the tournament continues. FHSU earned its first MIAA Regular Season Championship in 2012-13.

UIU Standouts
 
Woods (team-high 20 points, team-high 4 assists), Ogbonna (13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks), Lang (10 points, 4 rebounds), Pagel (8 points, 3 rebounds), Weeber (9 points, 3 rebounds).

Stat of the Game
 
Kierre Ogbonna had 13 points off the bench for UIU in just 15 minutes of play. He also earned two blocks in the game.

Sounding Off
 
Head Coach Brooks McKowen After the Game…
 
On the Loss… "The biggest thing was that we didn't defend well. I give credit to Northwest Missouri State for taking advantage of that. They came at us and we gave up easy baskets. Our defense is going to have to improve if we want to consistently win in this league. I thought we did a good job on offense driving to the rim and finishing or kicking it out for open looks, but we just didn't knock them down tonight. We weren't able to find our grove."

Offensive Standouts… "I thought Joey Woods had a good game – he got to the rim late in the game and did a good job finishing. He was more aggressive in the second half, but in the first he was finding open guys. He was getting the rest of the team involved, but again, we weren't making the open shots. I also thought Kierre Ogbonna worked his butt off for us tonight and he was aggressive offensively."

On the Improvements Needed… "Our guys have shot the ball well so far this season, but that wasn't the case tonight. Pagel was 0-for-4 and Weeber was 0-for-7 from deep – you're not going to have that every night. I know those guys are good shooters, and when they're open they are going to knock them down. Every once in a while, you're going to have those nights where you are off shooting-wise. But you have to play defense, if you want to win – we didn't do that tonight."

Taking on Fort Hays State Tomorrow… "The best thing about this is that we have a quick turnaround. The guys have to rally together and come back stronger tomorrow. It's just like the Northern Sun Conference schedule – we have to have a short memory and put this one behind us."

Up Next
 
The Peacocks will continue play in the SMSU Mustang Tournament on Sunday at 2 p.m. as they take on the Tigers of Fort Hays State University in non-conference play. Click here to view the preview.