Box Score Records
Upper Iowa (11-12, 9-8 NSIC) || Wayne State (8-13, 5-12 NSIC)
Recap
Former UIU Coach Brian Dolan's signature mark on the Peacock program over the past seven years was a strong defense. He would have been proud of the way
Brooks McKowen's new squad performed on Friday night. With Dolan on the opposite bench coaching Wayne State, the Peacocks dominated their hosts, holding the home team to 53 total points, while forcing a season-high 22 turnovers. Four Peacocks finished in double-figures as UIU earned the 73-53 victory inside Rice Auditorium - the team's third win in a row and third on the road.
The win marks the first time this season the team is above .500 in the Northern Sun Conference as UIU sits in fifth place in the NSIC-South with a 9-8 conference record.
Offensively, Upper Iowa was led by
Josh Weeber who scored 14 points on 3-of-6 shooting, while adding two assists to his stat line. After scoring a combined 64 points last weekend,
Joey Woods finished second on the team with 13 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals.
Grant Lang and
Bo Pagel also reached double-figures as UIU shot 45-percent from the floor in the game.
The Peacocks played cat-and-mouse with the Wildcats through the first four minutes of the game as WSC held a slim 4-3 advantage. A trey from Weeber shifted the momentum in favor of the visitors as UIU took a 6-4 lead. On the Peacocks' next possession, Woods controlled a long rebound and turned it into three points for UIU the old-fashioned way.
Midway through the first half the visitors still held a five-point lead after two free throws from Weeber. WSC answered with a jumper, but Lang hit his first trifecta of the game to push UIU out in front by six with 9:25 left in the opening period. Two minutes later, Pagel extended that margin to eight with a pair of freebies from the charity stripe.
The Wildcats' Ryan Rolfzen knocked down a three to cut into the lead, but Woods answered with back-to-back layups to give the Peacocks their largest lead of the first half, 22-13. WSC hung tight though. The home team used the final 5:47 to go on a 12-4 run and pull within just one at intermission, 27-26. Again it was Rolfzen hitting a three just before the half ended to close the gap for the Wildcats.
Woods and Weeber led UIU at the break with 8 points apiece, while Lang chipped in five of his own. The Peacocks weren't shooting the ball extremely well, but UIU forced 10 first half turnovers. After shooting just 32-percent in the first half, the Peacocks found their offensive groove early in the second. UIU finished the game hitting 17-of-29 shots (58-percent).
Less than 30 seconds into the final period, Adol Aluong gave the home team its first and only lead of the second half with a jumper from the wing. The Peacocks wasted no time responding with seven straight points capped by a
Jace Hanna trey. The Wildcats snuck in a free throw before Weeber added three more points – all from the charity stripe. His free throws gave UIU a 41-29 lead with 15:19 to play.
WSC never pulled within single digits again. The Wildcats actually only scored one point over the next three minutes of action as UIU went on an 8-1 run, which was capped by a pair of
Kierre Ogbonna buckets in the paint. UIU outscored their hosts, 22-4, in the lane in the second half.
The Wildcats pulled within 14 points just past the midway point of the final stanza, but UIU went on another run to take full control of the game. Starting at the nine-minute mark and ending with 6:07 left in regulation, the Peacocks went on an 11-0 run to take their largest lead of the night, 64-38.
Upper Iowa coasted to victory from there as the visitors sealed the 20-point victory on the road.
Stat of the Game
In three of the first 17 games of the year,
Bo Pagel finished in double-figures. Friday's 12-point outing mark the fifth time in the last six games the junior has scored at least 10.
UIU Standouts
Weeber (14 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 steals), Woods (13 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals), Pagel (12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal), Roth (8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 steal)
Up Next
The Peacocks will look to pull off another sweep on the road as they head to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to face the Vikings of Augustana tomorrow at 6 p.m.
