The Peacocks snapped a three-game skid and reached the century mark for the first time this season with a commanding 103-80 win over the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears on Saturday night in St. Paul, Minnesota. The biggest difference in the game was the three-point shooting as the Peacocks hit a season-high 15 trifectas on 26 attempts (57.7%), compared to the Golden Bears going 6-of-14, with all six coming in the second half.
Upper Iowa (6-7, 2-3 NSIC) had its best shooting night of the year, going 35-of-59 (59.3%) from the floor, while Concordia (2-7, 0-4 NSIC) shot a respectable 46.3% (25-54). The Peacocks continually converted easy buckets as UIU forced the Golden Bears into 21 turnovers and outscored CSP 31-10 in points off turnovers.
In the first half, Concordia took an early lead, but it was Peacocks sharpshooting that put UIU firmly in control. Upper Iowa went on a 12-0 run by knocking down four straight trifectas, including three in-a-row from freshman
Elliot Kane to put the Peacocks up 21-15 at the 10:35 mark. The Golden Bears clawed back and cut the lead to one two minutes later, but it was again Kane who connected from deep and propelled the Peacocks to a 13-point halftime lead, 50-37.
UIU led by double-digits for most of the second half, by more than 15 for the final 10 minutes and by 20-plus for the last five minutes. Upper Iowa shot a blistering 72% (18-25) in the final 20 minutes to close out the game.
Kane finished the game with a career-high 21 points by hitting 7-11 three pointers. He was one of five Peacocks in double figures, joined by
Josh Weeber (18),
Jimmy Roth (15),
Dennis Austin III (12) and
Jernell Hughes (11). Roth led Upper Iowa with 5 rebounds and Hughes led the team with 5 assists.
Jarrod Gamble added a season-high 3 blocked shots. UIU played 13 different players and each one had at least one tally in points column in the scorer's book.
The Peacocks will play one final home game before the Christmas break when they host Wisconsin-Parkside on Tuesday, Dec. 15, in Dorman Gymnasium at 7 p.m. It will be Pajama Night at the game and one student in attendance will have a chance to shoot for $500. Pete Claus will be in attendance, handing out candy canes and treats.
