Box Score Photo Gallery
Records
Upper Iowa (6-9, 4-5 NSIC) || Minot State (6-7, 2-7 NSIC)
Recap
The Upper Iowa Men's Basketball team shot a blazing 57-percent from the floor on Friday night against visiting Minot State and the five UIU freshmen were a big reason why.
Josh Weeber and
Jimmy Roth missed only five of their 20 shots en route to 37 combined points, while
Jace Hanna and
Luke Lenhart split time at guard and added 13 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists.
Austin Mecca added seven points as the Peacocks defeated the Beavers, 88-71, in NSIC action at home.
From the start, UIU was ready to play. The team jumped out to a 9-1 lead three and a half minutes into the game thanks to five points from Weeber and two each from
Joey Woods and Roth. Minot State battled back to tie the game at 12-12, but the Beavers never took the lead.
UIU used the next four minutes to go on a 13-5 run which was capped by a
Grant Lang three and a Mecca layup. The Beavers' Dominique McDonald converted a three-point play to keep MSU within four points, 24-20, but the Peacocks went on another run to start to pull away.
Mecca hit another layup – the freshman post had 7 points in the first half – before Lenhart hit a three and Roth converted a bucket in the lane.
Jordan Hay, Weeber and Mecca sandwiched two MSU free throws with a 6-0 run as the Peacocks took a commanding 37-22 lead with four minutes to play in the first half.
The Beavers started to climb back into the game thanks to a 12-6 run to end the half. UIU led by nine at the break, 43-34, thanks to 51-percent shooting from the floor. Weeber led all scorers with 12 points at halftime, but he was just as effective in the second half. All the freshmen were.
Three minutes into the final stanza, Roth went on his own 5-point run before Lenhart made it an 8-0 run with another trifecta, this one coming from way beyond the arc. The Beaver's Chris East answered with a solo free throw before Weeber added another trey to put UIU up by 20 points, 60-40.
The Beavers hung around by outscoring UIU 21-15 over the next eight minutes before UIU put its foot on the gas again. The Peacocks used a 10-0 run highlighted by threes from Lang and Roth to take their largest lead of the night, 85-61, with just 2:46 remaining in regulation.
MSU finished the game on a 10-3 run, but the damage was done. The Beavers couldn't close the gap as UIU sealed the 88-71 victory on their home court. In all, the Peacocks registered a season-high 20 assists – eight of which came from Woods – shot 57-percent from the floor and 43-percent from deep, and forced seven steals – three coming from Lang.
Weeber finished the night 8-of-12 from the field for a game-high 21 points, while adding three assists, two boards and a block. Roth was right behind his fellow freshman with 16 points on nearly flawless 7-of-8 shooting while adding three rebounds, two blocks and an assist.
The Peacocks are now 4-0 against Minot State all-time.
Stat of the Game
The Peacocks set three season-highs on Friday night including a new record in field-goal percentage for a game (57-percent), total assists (20) and turnovers (14), while tying their season mark for blocked shots with four.
UIU Standouts
Weeber (21 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 block), Roth (16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist), Lang (13 points, 4 steals, 3 rebounds, 2 assists), Lenhart (9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists), Woods (8 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal), Mecca (7 points, 2 rebounds).
Up Next
UIU will host U-Mary at 6 p.m. inside Dorman Gym as the Peacocks look to extend their win streak to two games.
During halftime, the Peacock Posse will entertain the crowd with a halftime performance. The Peacock Posse is made up of local K-through-8th grade athletes from the surrounding community who have been working with the Upper Iowa coaching staff since early November. Also, the Fayette County Food Shelf is in need of rebuilding its food supply from a fire that destroyed the business on December 31 and Upper Iowa University is lending a hand. Non-perishable food items or cash donations are being collected for the Fayette County Food Shelf through January 10 at the Office of Student Development and the President's Office and now Peacock fans can join in too. A drop-off station will be set up in the lobby of Dorman Gymnasium prior to this weekend's contests against Minot State University and the University of Mary. Any donations are much appreciated and will go directly to the Fayette County Food Shelf.
