Box Score Records
 
Upper Iowa (8-10, 6-6 NSIC) || SMSU (11-7, 8-4 NSIC)
 

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Recap
 
Knowing that the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs posted a 54-percent shooting clip on them in their last matchup, the Upper Iowa Men's Basketball team clamped down on defense on Saturday night in Marshall, Minnesota. UIU held SMSU to just 38-percent in the first half and never trailed in the game as the Peacocks earned their first win against the Mustangs in the R/A Facility in nine tries, 96-75.
 
Grant Lang, Joey Woods, Jordan Hay and Bo Pagel all finished in double-figures for UIU. Lang hit 6-of-10 field goals and two of his three trifectas for a team-high 17 points, while Woods finished with 16. Hay made his contributions off the bench, playing 22 minutes and barely missing the basket. The sophomore forward finished 5-of-8 from the floor, 4-of-6 from the charity stripe and he added four rebounds, two blocks and three steals.
 
Woods on the other hand, dished out nearly as many assists as the entire SMSU team had. The redshirt-senior handed out seven helpers compared to eight for the entire Mustang squad. Woods also contributed five boards and a block in 27 minutes of action.
 
Meanwhile, Pagel had his first double-digit scoring game since Jan. 3 and just his second since Nov. 23. The junior guard finished 5-of-7 from the floor, while adding three boards and a steal.
 
Although the Peacocks got off to a very good start, it was the UIU bench that made the biggest difference. In all, the Peacocks had 40 points from their bench including Hay's 14 and Pagel's 12, while Luke Lenhart and David Smith added 8 and Kierre Ogbonna added two.
 
The Peacocks earned the first three points of the game and after SMSU tied the game up with a three, UIU never looked back. Jimmy Roth, Grant Lang and Jace Hanna hit back-to-back-to-back buckets to put UIU out in front early 9-4. Matt Zager hit two free throws for the Mustangs, but Lenhart added to the offensive barrage with a quick three at the 15-minute mark in the first half. The freshman point guard's trifecta gave UIU an early 12-5 lead.
 
Two minutes later, Woods converted a layup before Hay earned one of his steals, adding a layup on the other end. The Mustangs' Nick Smith slowed the bleeding for SMSU with a layup in traffic, but Weeber bounced right back and gave UIU its biggest lead of the first half, 19-7, with a long ball from downtown.
 
SMSU battled back though and pulled within five, 21-16, after a 9-2 run. The Peacocks answered with a three from Bo Pagel to go back up by eight midway through the first half. Neither team could pull away in the final 10 minutes of the period as UIU ensured an 8-point lead at the half, 38-30, thanks to a late bucket in the lane from Smith and a defensive stop on the other end. The UIU defense held SMSU – which was averaging 74.8 points per game coming into the night – scoreless for the final 1:53 of the opening stanza.
 
UIU had 18 points off the bench in the first half compared to four for SMSU. That's in comparison to just three points for UIU off the bench in the first half of their last matchup with the Mustangs.
 
The ball bounced Upper Iowa's way in the first half and that continued well into the final period. Lang was the beneficiary of an SMSU turnover on UIU's first possession of the half as the junior converted a layup off the glass to put UIU's lead back to double-digits, 40-30.
 
Joey Bartlett and Vinard Birch had an answer on the other end as they earned back-to-back layups, but UIU was back on the attack quickly. Roth hit a free throw to begin a 7-3 run for the Peacocks, while Weeber and Lang capped the run with treys. At the 16-minute mark, Weeber hit another trifecta to give UIU an 11-point lead, 50-39.
 
A jumper from Hay and a layup from Smith ensured UIU held that 11-point lead five minutes into the second half, but UIU wasn't satisfied. The Peacocks used the next 2:19 to go on a 13-4 run, essentially putting the game out of reach. Lang and Lenhart both drilled long balls during that stretch, while Hay added three points of his own, the hard way.
 
Even with 11:41 left in the game, the Mustangs couldn't cut into the double-digit Peacock lead. UIU kept its foot on the gas and finished with 96 or more points in NSIC action for the third time this season. The Peacocks shot a blazing 55-percent from the floor in the game and what's more, they made 8 of their 14 three-point attempts – a 57-percent shooting clip, a season-high.
 

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Stat of the Game
 
Saturday's victory was just the third win for UIU in 18 matchups with SMSU dating back to the 1979-80 season. The Peacocks were previously 0-8 against the Mustangs in Marshall, Minnesota and 0-6 in their last six meetings overall.
 

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UIU Standouts 

Lang (17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist), Woods (16 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 block), Hay (14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks), Pagel (12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal), Weeber (9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal), Lenhart (8 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist), Smith (8 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks), Roth (7 points, 3 steals)

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Up Next

The Peacocks will return home to face two familiar foes. The Peacocks will host the Golden Bears of Concordia University, St. Paul on Friday night at 8 p.m. before taking on the Mavericks of Minnesota State on Saturday at 6 p.m. Both games will be held in Dorman Gym.