Box Score NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket
Records
Upper Iowa (15-13, 13-9 NSIC) || Wayne State (8-18, 5-16 NSIC)
Recap
The Upper Iowa men's basketball did exactly what they wanted to do on Saturday as the Peacocks hosted the Wildcats of Wayne State in their regular-season finale. Head Coach
Brooks McKowen told his team earlier in the week not to look ahead to their matchup with WSC at home. But after defeating Augustana on Friday night, the Peacocks were salivating for their rematch with the Wildcats.
That built-up energy and the emotions stemming from senior day led to a strong start as UIU jumped on their guests early. Despite a couple Wildcat runs late in the game, the Peacocks used a suffocating run in the second half to secure the 85-74 victory at home. The Peacocks have now won seven of their last eight games and have become one of the top teams in the NSIC over the past month.
The Peacocks got off to a solid start thanks to seven early points from last night's overtime hero,
Josh Weeber. The freshman had the first two buckets of the game for the home team, while his three at the 13:09 mark gave UIU an 8-6 lead. Another three, this one coming from
Luke Lenhart extended that lead to three, 11-8, a minute later.
WSC battled back to tie the game at 15-all midway through the first half, but four straight points from
Jimmy Roth ensured the Peacocks stayed out in front of their guests. Again, the Wildcats made a run to tie the game. A fast-break layup from Adol Aluong tied the game at 21-21 with 8:19 left before halftime.
That's when the Peacocks started draining shots from beyond the arc.
Grant Lang hit his first three of the game before
Bo Pagel passed up the trifecta, drove to the hoop and connected on a tough layup in traffic. UIU's run continued as Weeber drained a triple from way beyond the arc. He was open thanks to a screen from
Joey Woods, who was fouled in the process. With an extra possession, the Peacocks took advantage of the WSC mistake as Lang connected on yet another trey, this one coming from the right wing.
In all, UIU's 11-0 run gave the home team a 32-21 lead with 6:40 left in the first half. Despite WSC closing out the half on a 10-5 run, the Peacocks still took a 37-31 lead into intermission. The Peacocks shot 44-percent in the first half and 41-percent from deep. Weeber led all scorers at the break with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
The home team went right back to work in the second half. Lang gave his team a 42-31 lead after hitting a layup and three on back-to-back possessions. The Wildcats' Jared Bartling answered with a jumper before Weeber added two free throws to his point total. Lang then added another three – this one from the top of the key – before Woods hit one of two free throws.
WSC went on an 11-4 run over the next two and a half minutes as the Wildcats pulled within single digits of their hosts, 52-44, with 14:22 to play.
Jordan Hay answered with back-to-back buckets before Pagel found Woods for an open layup.
Despite Upper Iowa's response, the Peacocks couldn't stop the Wildcats from going on another run to stay within striking distance. A 10-2 offensive burst from the visitors kept it close midway through the second half, but it only took one more run from the home team to seal the game.
In a manner of six minutes, UIU outscored WSC by 18 points. Woods started that stretch with two free throws before sandwiching a Roth layup with one of his own. Weeber capped the Peacocks' 9-0 run with a three, but UIU wasn't done. After five straight points from WSC, UIU hit back-to-back threes coming from Roth and Weeber to kick-start a 14-0 UIU run as the Peacocks took full control of the game. Hay and Pagel each found the hoop, while Lenhart hit another three from way beyond the arc.
The 23-5 run solidified the 85-74 victory for the home team.
Stat of the Game
The Peacocks scored 71 points off the bench on Saturday as the regular starters gave way to the five seniors, who were honored for their time at Upper Iowa before the start of the game.
UIU Standouts
Weeber (22 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals), Lang (14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals), Roth (13 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists), Woods (12 points, 1 assist, 1 steal), Hay (10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal).
Sounding Off
Head Coach Brooks McKowen after the game…
Thoughts on the game… "We accomplished what we set out to do. We knew there were going to be a lot of emotions going into this game with Coach Dolan coming back and it being senior night, but we stuck to the game plan. Both teams had a couple runs, but we were able to stick with it and finish them off for the win."
Thoughts on starting the seniors… "That's not something you normally do as a coach, but that's the type of team we have. The entire team decided they wanted those guys out on the court and in the starting lineup – that's just how close this team is and it shows the chemistry that we have. I personally, have so much respect for this senior class. They have made my life easy this year. They are great leaders and great players, but more importantly they are great people. They care more about others than themselves and they have sacrificed for this program."
Thoughts on the first half… "They are the type of team that likes to slow you down. They change the pace of the game and I thought we fell into a lull in the first half at times. That wasn't the case in the second half. We got out and ran and it really helped us get a big lead. We knew it was going to be a battle and it was."
Thoughts on the second half… "There was a point in the second half when they went on a big run. I had to call a timeout and ask my guys why we were getting outplayed. They had more energy than us and it looked as if they wanted it more than us. So I challenged our guys and they stepped up big. We went on a run and built a 15-point lead to seal the game."
Up Next
The Peacocks will host a first round playoff game on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. as they host the Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth in the 16-team NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament. For the second straight year, the Peacocks will host a playoff game inside Dorman Gym as they enter the tournament as the fourth seed.
"To be able to host a tournament game two years in a row is impressive," McKowen said. "That feat means a lot to these guys and I give a lot of credit to Coach Dolan and what he was able to put in place here. But we have a tough matchup on the horizon. Duluth is one of the hottest teams on that side of the conference. They just got hot a little late, so they weren't able to catch anyone else and they got stuck in fifth place. But they're a dangerous team. They have three guys who can score with the best of them. They also have some role guys who play their butt off, so it's going to be a tough game. You don't get easy wins in this conference. Hopefully we can slow them down and just play like we've been playing over the past month."
