Box Score
SAINT CLOUD, MN – It wasn’t an ideal look and it wasn’t a high-percentage shot, but if senior Sam Elgin hit it, the Upper Iowa men’s basketball team would steal a victory on the road and sweep the weekend and their final two NSIC-North opponents.

With his team down by two and less than ten seconds left in St. Cloud State’s hostile Halenbeck Hall, Elgin - the 6-foot-6 wing for UIU - had the ball in his hands with the game on the line. He elevated from four feet beyond the arc and while fading away, he released the ball and hit nothing but net.

That three-pointer from way downtwon sealed the Peacocks upset on Saturday night as UIU knocked off the top-team in the NSIC-North - SCSU, 71-70.

"As much as I would love to take all the credit, it’s not always about what we run and how we do it,” UIU Head Coach Brian Dolan said. “It’s about the effort with which you’re playing with and sometimes, players just make plays. Our guys just did a great job of making a play.”

Elgin was just 1-of-3 from downtown before he hit that three which propelled the Peacocks to their 13th conference victory this season and their seventh victory in eight contests with the NSIC-North.

With the win, the Peacocks improve to 17-7 overall and to 13-5 in the NSIC, while SCSU falls to 17-5 overall, and 13-5 in the conference. SCSU was previously receiving votes in the NABC Division-II top-25 poll and Saturday’s win marked UIU’s third victory this season against ranked teams or teams receiving votes.

“I’m just so proud of our group,” Dolan added. “I’m just so proud of how they’ve performed since halftime of last night.”

It was a commendable night for Elgin, who turned 22 years-old on Thursday, but while the birthday boy enjoyed the dramatics of his last-second shot, it was Tucker Wentzien who kept the Peacocks in the game throughout the night.

The veteran post from Solon, Iowa earned his first double-double this season as he finished tied for a game-high 23 points and he snagged a game-high 12 rebounds. It was Wentzien’s ninth career double-double, but it started slow.

Wentzien was just 3-of-8 from the floor and committed five turnovers in the first half, but the Peacocks kept giving him the ball. The big man started to heat up in the final period, making 16 of his 23 points in the final 20 minutes. The Solon, Iowa native finished just three points shy of tying his career-high.

“That was our gameplan going in – just get him the ball,” Dolan said. “We did it early, but we kind of got away from it. We said at halftime, ‘we’re going to throw it in there every chance we get.’”

Elgin also had a slow start, going 0-for-4 in the first period, but he did make four trips to the free-throw line and he drained all four attempts.

“I told Sam at halftime to keep shooting,” Dolan said. “’You’re going to make a couple big ones and he did.’”

UIU, which trailed by eight points at halftime, outscored the Huskies 42-33 in the final period thanks to 54-percent shooting. Eight Peacocks scoring at least four points, while three of those scorers reached double-figures, including Elgin – who had 10 – Wentzien – who had a season-high 23 – and Jake Hughes – who had 15 points on 3-of-4 shooting and perfect 8-of-8 shooting from the charity stripe.

“Those are three kids that came in together and have been through a lot together,” Dolan said. “Those guys have been through a lot of heartbreaks, a lot of heartbreaks. We’ve lost our fair share of those close games, but I think it was a nice way for Sam to finish his last game against St. Cloud”

While the Peacocks found scoring from a deep bench, the Huskies relied on two 20-point scorers in Kevin Levandoski, who had 22 points, and Theo Rothstein, who had 23. It was the second time in two nights that the Peacocks gave up two 20-point scorers, but were still able to pull out the win. Minus Levandoski and Rothstein, only four other Huskies scored against the Peacocks’ defense, which came into the game allowing just 63.4 points per game.

“I think we were a little uneasy to start the game,” Dolan said. “It was like a boxing match where you feel your opponent out in the first couple of minutes.”

It was also the second time in two nights that the Peacocks pulled out a win after trailing at halftime – UIU was previously 2-7 when trailing a team at the break coming into this weekend.

“I told the guys at halftime, ‘whichever team flips the emotional switch at halftime will win the game,’” Dolan said. “That’s what Saturday nights in the NSIC are all about – who plays with that energy and I thought our guys brought it tonight.”

The Peacocks also brought their focus as they made 23-of-24 free throw attempts in the game.

“When we’re making free throws, we know we’re dialed in,” Dolan stated simply.
 
Before Saturday, UIU was 0-10 against SCSU over the past eight seasons, but Elgin and company changed that stat in a hurry.

It was almost all for not, though.

After Elgin's three-pointer, the Huskies had nine seconds to bring the ball up court and try one final time to earn the victory. The ball clattered off the rim and the Peacocks started their celebrations as the 71-70 win was cemented in stone.

“This was a big win for us in the regional rankings,” Dolan said. “We’ve beat three of the top five teams in the region on the road this year, so that will really help our regional ranking. But this win will be short lived. We have Minnesota State starring us in the face.”

UIU, which also defeated MSU on a last-second bucket from Hughes back on December 9th, will play host to the Mavericks (19-3, 15-3 NSIC) on Friday night as the Peacocks look to extend its two-game win streak. The Peacocks will then face the Golden Bears of  Concordia University (7-15, 5-13 NSIC) on Saturday night. Both games will begin at 8 p.m. inside Dorman Gymnasium. Click here to get your tickets.

“The toughest gym we’ve played tin his season is Dorman Gym,” Dolan admitted with a smile. “We’re just 6-4 at home.”

The Peacocks may be 6-4 at home, but their win over the Huskies improves their road record to 10-2.