Box Score Photo Gallery
Grant Lang Video After the Game
Records
Upper Iowa (4-7, 2-3 NSIC) || Sioux Falls (5-4, 2-3 NSIC)
Recap
The Upper Iowa Men's Basketball team showed off all phases of their team on Saturday night - the good, the bad and the great. Luckily, there was enough good to overcome any of the bad as the Peacocks found a way to pull out a 96-87 victory at home over the Cougars in NSIC action.
In the first half, the Peacocks showed what a mean streak on defense looks like as they held USF to just 29 points. They also displayed their high-powered offense posting 43 points in the opening period thanks to a 48-percent shooting clip.
Yet despite Upper Iowa extending that halftime lead to a game-high 22 points five minutes into the second half, the bad eventually reared its ugly head as the Cougars mounted a desperation comeback over the next nine minutes to tie the game. USF center Jordan Stotts, who finished with a game-high 34 points on 11-of-14 shooting, had 17 points during that stretch.
The Cougars tied the game five times and even took a one-point lead at one point in the final seven minutes, but the Peacocks never gave up. Head Coach
Brooks McKowen told his team it was a new game and they responded.
Joey Woods earned a team-high 19 points and dished out seven assists, but more importantly, he made seven total trips to the free throw line and connected on all of them, including six in the final 6:47 of regulation.
Grant Lang - who transferred from USF as a sophomore last year - finished with 16 points, but no three were bigger than his trifecta from downtown with just 1:20 to play to give his team a five-point lead. Fortunately for UIU, that was enough to seal the win.
Although they ultimately got the same result, it looked like UIU would coast to victory. The Peacocks could not have asked for a better start. They came out with a renewed energy, pressuring the ball relentlessly and it paid off. The Peacocks forced a pair of turnovers to begin the game as Lang and Woods converted a pair of fast breaks – Lang with a layup and Woods with a dunk. Lang followed that up with a three from the left corner as UIU jumped out to a 9-3 lead three minutes into the game.
A three-point play from
Jordan Hay, a jumper from
David Smith and a trifecta from
Bo Pagel pushed UIU's lead to 11 points, 17-6, eight minutes into the opening period.
Jimmy Roth ensured that lead would hold as he converted another three-point play in traffic at the 8:37 mark.
The Cougars' Derek Brown – who led USF with 7 points at halftime – hit a pair of free throws before Mahlon Jones connected on a jumper to pull the Cougars within seven, 27-20. It didn't slow UIU down though. Hay, Smith and Woods began a 7-0 run for UIU with back-to-back-to-back layups. Roth then made it a 10-2 run with his lone first-half three at the 1:20 mark before Lang gave UIU its largest lead of the half, 41-25, with just 33 seconds remaining in the first half. UIU – which took a 43-29 lead into the break – shot 48-percent from the floor in the first half, but the real story was the defense.
The home team forced 10 Cougar turnovers and held USF to a 33-percent shooting clip in the first half.
Neither team could find an edge to start the second half, but UIU was able to keep its double-digit lead thanks to 7 quick points from Woods. The redshirt-senior then converted the second of back-to-back three-point plays for the Peacocks.
Austin Mecca had the first as the freshman earned a layup in the paint despite a lot of contact. Mecca hit his free throw before Woods forced a steal and converted his own trifecta.
The Peacocks went right back to Mecca and Woods on the next two possessions as both converted layups to give UIU its largest lead of the game, 65-43, with 15:13 left in the game.
USF faced a double-digit lead until midway through the half when the Cougars went on a 13-0 run to tie the game at 74-74. Jones hit a three to start the run for the Cougars, but Stotts earned eight points during that three-minute stretch, including a momentum-changing four-point play. Stotts tied the game at the 7-minute mark with a reverse layup from the baseline putting him past the 30-point plateau.
Woods hit a pair of free throws to put UIU back out in front by two, 76-74, but Stotts answered right back with another jumper. Hay and Lang sandwiched a USF trey with a pair of free throws each, but the Cougars tied the game at 80-all with another free throw from Stotts. Woods then went back on the attack. The Naples, Florida native missed his layup attempt, but Hay was there for the put-back. The two-point UIU lead didn't last though, as USF tied the game for the fifth time with two from the charity stripe.
Jace Hanna ensured the Peacocks would take a lead into the final two minutes of action thanks to a tough layup off the glass in traffic. The defense did its job on the other end and Lang made his former team pay the price of letting him go.
Hay pulled down a rebound off a missed three before chucking it to Lang on the left wing. The junior didn't hesitate as he elevated and dropped the bomb from downtown. It was only his second three of the game in five attempts, but it put the Peacocks up by five with 1:20 to play.
The teams exchanged free throws before the Peacocks came up with two big stops on defense and Woods connected on four straight free throws. Woods found Hay for a wide-open layup and Hanna connected on two more free throws as UIU iced the victory, 96-87.
Stat of the Game
UIU shot 83-percent from the free throw line on Saturday night going 31-of-37 from the charity stripe.
The last time the Peacocks connected on 30-plus free throws in a game was when they hosted USF last January (39-of-47).
UIU Standouts
Woods (19 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals), Lang (16 points, 3 steals), Roth (16 points), Hay (12 points, 4 rebounds), Hanna (8 points, 2 assists), Pagel (8 points, a team-high 8 rebounds).
Sounding Off
Head Coach Brooks McKowen After the Win...
On the Victory... "Obviously, I would have liked to maintain that lead and ride it to victory to keep my stress levels down, but I'm proud of these guys for never giving up and sticking it out. It's easy to roll over or lay down when you lose a lead like that, but they didn't. The guys battled through adversity and the one thing about our team is that adversity doesn't affect us a whole lot. When they tied it up, I told them, "Just think of it as a new game. It's zero-zero and we have to beat them in the final seven minutes to get the win.'"
On the Defensive Performance... "Our defense was really solid for the first 25 minutes of the game until they went on that run. I have to give Sioux Falls credit for that. They hit some tough shots in our face and we got a little stagnant offensively. With Jordan Stotts, he's a good player and we seem to let one or two guys go off on us. To his credit, he just got rolling with a couple open threes and that four-point play. Overall though, I think we made strides tonight. That's the best our defense has played overall this year. The guys were flying around and creating turnovers, so I am really proud of the way they played tonight."
UIU Standouts... "Joey had a great weekend, but it wasn't just his scoring. I am excited about the back-to-back games with 7 assists. Not only is he getting to the rim and finishing well, but he's finding his teammates. Grant has also been playing extremely well and his shots have been falling. He's taking good shots and he doesn't try to force anything. I also have to mention
Jordan Hay's rebound because I thought it was the biggest rebound of the game. We're up two and he gets that rebound with just over a minute left and now we're up five - that sealed the deal for us."
On Facing Winona Next Saturday... "Winona is playing the best basketball in the league right now. They are just solid - they don't make a lot of mistakes. I think we will have some confidence after that second half in our last matchup, but we will need to come out and execute."
Up Next
The Peacocks will round out 2013 competition next Saturday in Winona, Minnesota as they take on the Warriors of Winona State. WSU will enter that game with a flawless 6-0 conference record. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
