The Peacock men's basketball team struggled from the free throw line in Friday night's 85-79 loss to the Sioux Falls Cougars in Dorman Gym. Upper Iowa was 23-of-43 (53.5%) from the line, while the Cougars made 29-of-36 (80.6%).
 
UIU (5-5, 1-1 NSIC) trailed by as many as 25 early in the second half, but whittled the lead down to three, 82-79, with 23 seconds left. The Cougars (5-1, 1-0 NSIC) were led by Mack Johnson, who set a new career-high with 39 points on 10-of-15 shooting and a perfect 16-of-16 from the free throw line.
 
A Jarrod Gamble three-pointer gave the Peacocks a 3-0 lead to start the game, but Sioux Falls quickly took over with a 7-0 run and would never surrender the lead again. A Johnson jumper with five seconds left in the first half gave the Cougars a 43-30 lead at halftime. Johnson had 24 first half points and was the only player in double figures in the first half.
 
USF started the second half on an 11-0 run and pushed the Peacock deficit to 25, 55-30. Over the next 10 minutes, Upper Iowa cut the lead down to 10 on three occasions. Then, in the last six minutes, UIU would continue to battle to cut the lead to five point five separate times. But it was Johnson that kept the Cougars in front as he knocked down all seven of his free throws in the final 6:50 and Sioux Falls as a team was 15-of-20 from the charity stripe down the stretch.
 
Jimmy Roth led UIU with 15 points, doing the majority of his damage from the free throw line where he hit 11-of-17. Luke Lenhart had 13 points, while Jordan Hay chipped in 11 and Jernell Hughes had 10. Hay added 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
 
Upper Iowa returns to Dorman Gym on Saturday night at Ugly Sweater Night when they take on Southwest Minnesota State at 6 p.m.