Box Score Records

Upper Iowa (2-6, 0-2 NSIC) || No. 9 Minnesota State (8-1, 2-0 NSIC)

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Recap

A red-hot shooting performance from the 9th-ranked Mavericks of Minnesota State and an ice-cold shooting night for the Upper Iowa Men's Basketball team was not a good combo. The Peacocks, who made the trek to Mankato, Minnesota for Friday night's NSIC contest with MSU, made just 18-of-69 shots from the floor as MSU cruised to a 95-56 NSIC victory inside the Taylor Center.
 
The Peacocks 26-percent shooting clip was the lowest of the season, while the Mavericks were feeling good in their own gym. MSU shot 52-percent from the floor and owned the rebounding battle, 59-33, en route to the victory.
 
Just like the women's team, the UIU men got off to a slow start as well. The Peacocks fell in an early 6-0 hole as Assem Marei – the NSIC's Preseason Player of the Year – scored six straight for MSU. Joey Woods and Josh Weeber – the Peacocks two leading scorers this year – provided the early spark offensively on the offensive end. Woods had a pair of free throws before Weeber sandwiched a Gage Wooten layup with a three from way beyond the arc.
 
Despite the trifecta, the Mavericks responded with eight straight points to take a 16-5 lead with 15:25 remaining before halftime. UIU answered to make it just a six-point game, 16-10, after a layup and two free throws from David Smith and a leaning jumper in the lane from Jordan Hay at the 13:40 mark.
 
Freshman Mike Busack ensured the Peacocks would come no closer as he stepped on the court and drained back-to-back buckets, the second of which was a three.
 
Weeber hit two free throws to keep the game close before Marei slammed home a dunk from the baseline for MSU. Wasting no time for the crowd to applaud, Woods raced down the floor with the next possession and went straight to the hoop scoring off the glass to cut it to a seven-point game, 23-14, with 11:25 remaining in the opening period.
 
Over the next three minutes, the Mavericks went on a 13-2 run before the Peacocks found their answer with a Trevor Hook three-pointer. Again, MSU went on a run. This time, it was an 8-2 run as the Mavericks extended their lead to 42-19 with 4:29 remaining before intermission.
 
After a fairly quiet first half, Jimmy Roth sandwiched two Marei free throws with a three-point play the old-fashioned way and a long jumper from the left wing. Bo Pagel then forced a steal on the next possession and found Grant Lang for a layup in transition.
 
Despite six-straight free throws from the Mavericks' Connor O'Brien, Woods was able to connect on two jumpers to end the half, 52-31. Woods led UIU with 8 points in the first period, while Weeber and Roth both had five. Marei had a game-high 12 points and 8 boards at the break.
 
The Peacocks, who average 12 assists per game, had just two helpers in the first half on Friday compared to nine for MSU. The Mavericks also controlled the glass taking a 30-13 advantage in the rebounding battle.
 
At the start of the second half, the Peacocks went back to Woods and Weeber. The duo worked together to earn a quick layup on UIU's first possession in the second stanza before Woods earned a steal on the other end. In transition, the redshirt-senior missed the layup, but Lang was there to clean it up and cut the Maverick lead to 54-35.
 
Roth hit two free throws after being fouled on a drive to the hoop, but UIU was losing ground and suddenly the Peacocks went ice cold. In a span of five minutes, the Peacocks missed all six of their shots and turned the ball over three times as the Mavericks went on 9-0 run.
 
Woods stopped the bleeding with a free throw before Hook slammed home a dunk with 11:25 to play. Keeping the run going, Woods hit another layup midway through the final period, but MSU still held a 29-point lead, 70-41.
 
The Mavericks kept their foot on the gas as Tanner Adler scored 13 of his game-high 18 points in the final period. MSU extended its lead to a game-high 38 points, 91-55, with just 3:04 left in regulation thanks to a couple of perimeter shots from Adler. The Peacocks couldn't find a response as MSU cruised to victory, 95-56.
 

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Stat of the Game
 
The Mavericks led from start to finish on Friday night, marking just the second time Upper Iowa has never owned a lead in a game this season.
 

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UIU Standouts
 
Woods (14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals), Weeber (8 points, 4 rebounds), Roth (7 points, 2 steals), Hook (5 points).

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Sounding Off
 
Head Coach Brooks McKowen after the game…
 
First Half Thoughts… "Mankato is ranked for a reason. They came out and scored the ball at a high rate like they've done all season. But for us, it was one of those nights where we couldn't get the ball through the hoop. They came out aggressive and took an early lead and we could never catch up."
 
Second Half Thoughts… "Anytime you're down like that at the break, you just want to chip away at the lead. At each and every timeout you want to be just a little bit closer to catching them. But again, we couldn't score the ball tonight and we were never able to play catch-up. I thought our guys were aggressive and they were attacking in the second half, but we just couldn't finish."
 
Any Adjustments For Tomorrow's Quick Turnaround… "I want our guys to play aggressive on offense and defense. I don't want us to be on our heels, like were we at times tonight. We have a lot of players who can shoot the ball and who can score at will – we need to play like that and put together a complete game."
 

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Up Next
 
UIU will head to St. Paul, Minnesota to take on the Golden Bears of Concordia University St. Paul in another NSIC matchup. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. Concordia fell to Winona State on Friday, 71-69.