Box Score Josh Weeber Post-Game Interview
Records
Upper Iowa (14-13, 12-9 NSIC) || Augustana (14-13, 11-10 NSIC)
Recap
Nothing comes easily for the Upper Iowa men's basketball team. That much was evident on Friday night as the Peacocks hosted the Vikings of Augustana inside Dorman gym in NSIC action. The teams played a neck and neck first half and they were dead even after regulation. In overtime Augie took a four-point lead, but UIU stormed back thanks to red-hot three-point shooting to nail down a 104-100 victory over their NSIC-South foe.
Joey Woods and
Grant Lang were a terrific one-two punch for the home team as the duo combined for 45 points - 25 of which came from Woods. The redshirt-senior, who will be playing in his last regular season home game tomorrow night, added 7 assists and 6 rebounds to his stat line. His passing was a big reason UIU posted the come-from-behind victory, but the Peacocks' perimiter shooting solidified the win.
The Peacocks trailed by four, 91-87, with 3:12 left in overtime. But no one on the home sideline panicked. UIU simply relied on what they have done best all year – live and die by the three.
David Smith began the comeback with a layup in traffic. Then,
Josh Weeber took over.
After missing a game-winner at the end of regulation, Weeber stepped up in the extra period. His first three of OT and fourth of the game gave the Peacocks a 92-91 lead with 2:40 left. The Vikings answered with a layup on the other end before UIU hit another three – this one from Lang. The junior wing drained the trifecta from the corner to give his team a 95-93 lead.
Again, Augie answered. The visitors hit a three from the top of the key to pull ahead, 96-95, before Weeber answered right back. With ice in his veins and without hesitation, the freshman let it fly from the top of the arc and hit nothing but net. But Augie made him do it again – the Vikings tied the game for the 12th time with a layup.
With just 40 seconds on the clock, Weeber knocked down another big shot. This time, Woods found the Dubuque, Iowa native on the left wing and with a hand in his face, he elevated and drained it. The triple – Weeber's sixth of the game – put the Peacocks out in front for good. UIU added three free throws to seal the 104-100 victory in OT.
The Peacocks looked as if they would control the game from the onset. Lang gave his team an early spark as he hit the Peacocks' first three shots. A layup from
Bo Pagel pushed UIU out to a five-point margin, 15-10, with 13:33 left in the first half. Weeber added a jumper, but the Vikings answered right back with five straight points to cut the Peacocks' lead to two, 17-15. Woods responded with his own five points as the senior hit a triple midway through the first half to give his team a 22-17 lead. But that lead disappeared quickly.
Neither team could pull away in the opening period despite a couple big shots from Upper Iowa's young players
Luke Lenhart tied the game at 35-all with a jumper before Weeber started to heat up from beyond the arc. The freshman hit back-to-back threes before Lang added a trifecta of his own to give UIU a slim 44-43 advantage at intermission.
Despite shooting 44-percent from the floor in the first half - compared to 48-percent for Augie - the Peacocks forced 10 Viking turnovers and converted those chances into 12 points on the other end.
Augie needed the break to regroup and the Vikings came out of the intermission with a purpose. Schilling drained a trifecta from the left wing to give his team the lead before adding two free throws on the next possession. Daniel Jansen added two more freebies from the charity stripe as the Vikings jumped out to an early 50-44 lead in the second half.
That's when the Peacocks' first run of the second half began.
UIU used a five-minute, 17-3 run to jump all over their guests. Lang began the run with a jumper, while
Jordan Hay, Pagel, Smith, Lenhart and
Jimmy Roth all earned buckets during the Peacocks' offensive burst. Hay capped the run with a drive and layup thanks to an assist from Smith. The sophomore's bucket in traffic pushed UIU out in front by eight, 61-53, with 13 minutes remaining in regulation.
Augie responded with a mini 5-0 run – all five points coming from Jansen, who surpassed the 20-point mark in the game and started to take over for the visiting team. Despite the Peacocks going to their own big man, Augie began a momentum-shifting run.
Weeber hit two free throws before Woods added one of his one. The Peacocks then earned a stop on defense and Weeber drained a three from the right wing putting the home team in front by seven, 67-60. The Vikings bounced right back on their next possession as they hit a three, but two more free throws from Woods put UIU's lead back to six. Augie went back to Jansen and the 6-foot-8 sophomore post answered with 7 straight points. Schilling capped Jansen's run with a layup of his own as the visitors took a 72-69 lead with six minutes left in regulation.
The Peacocks needed a play and they turned to Woods. The senior earned four straight points before Roth hit another three. The freshman's triple put UIU back out in front by two, 76-74, with 4:56 on the clock. Augie tied the game for the 8th time with two free throws.
A minute later, Woods made another play for the home team and again, it came from beyond the arc. The senior hit his third three of the game as UIU took an 80-78 lead with 3:39 left to play. Back-to-back Augie buckets helped the visitors regain the lead, but Pagel answered with a layup of his own to tie the game again. Woods and the Peacocks had one more answer as a layup in traffic tied the game for the 11th time, 84-84, with less than a minute to play.
UIU had one final look at the win in regulation, but a last-second three rimmed out and the teams went to overtime.
As the extra period began, Jansen stepped up for the Vikings again. He hit four straight points before the Peacocks answered with a Lang floater in the lane. The teams exchanged free throws before Jansen hit another bucket right under the hoop.
The Peacocks always found a response. Weeber's hot hand led to the Peacocks' big 104-100 win as UIU positioned itself perfectly for a home playoff game.
Stat of the Game
UIU took a season-high 75 shots on Friday night and connected on 36 of them - the second-highest mark of the season. The Peacocks also hit an eye-popping 14 threes against the Vikings - another season-high.
Sounding Off
Head Coach Brooks McKowen after the game...
Thoughts on the OT period... "We couldn't ask for a better outcome. These are the games you want to be in. The crowd tonight was awesome - I give a lot of credit to our students because they kept us focused and in the game. They actually made them miss a couple free throws with some of their chants. They were awesome tonight."
About the late game heroics... "Our guys really displayed a lot of guts tonight. We kept shooting, even when the shots weren't going down or things weren't going well. For us to hit four threes down the stretch - that takes guts. On our team, anyone can score. Joey did a great job all night and when they crashed on him, like on that last play, he kicked it out for a great look for Josh, who can shoot a little bit. We will take that every single time. So, I am proud of our guys - they kept battling all night long."
Thoughts on Augie... "They're a good, tough basketball team. By the way we were going tonight, I though whoever had the ball last was going to win. Neither team quit. Neither team gave up and it turned out to be a great basketball game and a fun game to watch."
On the 14 Threes... "They really clamped down on the three-point line in the first half. I thought we took what they gave us, but we weren't always finishing at the rim. They made an adjustment and we did too. Once they crashed, we kicked it out. This coaching staff has so much confidence in our guys and how they shoot the basketball, we will take those shots every time."
UIU Standouts
Woods (25 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists), Weeber (22 points, 6 three-pointers, 2 rebounds), Lang (20 points, 2 assists, 1 block), Smith (12 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds), Pagel (7 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal)
Up Next
The Peacocks will celebrate senior night tomorrow night inside Dorman Gym as UIU hosts Wayne State at 6 p.m. UIU will honor
Joey Woods,
David Smith,
Trevor Hook and
Logan Johnson before they take on the Wildcats.
