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The Northern Sun Conference has named Tucker Wentzien as the NSIC Player of the Week. This is the twelfth award for Upper Iowa this year and the first time a UIU basketball player has been honored by the NSIC.

“Congratulations to Tucker,” Head Coach Brian Dolan said. “He had a great weekend and the guys did a nice job getting him the ball. That was part of what we wanted to do and he did a nice job on his end of finishing, rebounding and playing solid defense. Tucker will be the first one to tell you that this award is a team award, not just an individual award.”

Wentzien – who also won an NSIC Player of the Week award last season en route to Second-Team All-NSIC honors – averaged 26 points and 10 rebounds over the weekend to help lead his team to a weekend split on the road. The Peacocks had a big win at Augustana on Friday night before losing on a buzzer-beater at Wayne State on Saturday.  Wentzien registered a career-high 31 points, while also snagging 13 rebounds against Augustana. He then scored 21 points a night later against the Wildcats, but the Peacocks couldn't pull out the victory. The Solon, Iowa native shot 71.4% (20-28) from the floor in the two games, including 12-of-16 from the free-throw line.  The Solon, Iowa product added two blocks and two steals to go along with his 20 rebounds, including 7 on the offensive glass.

Wentzien’s 52 points over the weekend helped him jump up to the 14th spot on the all-time scoring list at Upper Iowa. His 1,207 career points leaves him only nine away from moving into the 13th spot on the list.
 
“He’s one of the better players in the league, especially one of the better post players,” Dolan added. “Any time he steps on the floor, he’s capable of doing what he did this weekend.”
 
Wentzien was joined by Sam Elgin in double figures over the weekend as Elgin averaged 13 points in the two games and added 5.5 rebounds.  The win in Sioux Falls on Friday night gave Upper Iowa a win against each of the top three teams in the NSIC South and pushed the Peacocks into a tie with the Vikings, but a last-second shot by Amry Shelby on Saturday sent UIU into the fourth seed in the NSIC South heading into the NSIC/Sanford Health Men’s Basketball Championship.  Upper Iowa will host the Beavers of Minot State University on Wednesday, Feb. 27, in Dorman Gym at 7 p.m.