The Peacock men's basketball team saw a 17-point second half lead evaporate as the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs rallied to beat Upper Iowa, 87-81.
 
With 9:17 remaining in the game, UIU led by 10 points. Over the next 7:43, Upper Iowa went just 3-of-9 from the field, had 4 turnovers and found themselves down by 8, 83-75. Over that span, the Mustangs were 9-for-13 from the field, including 3-for-4 from three point range, and were a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
  
Upper Iowa scored a season high 52 points in the first half on 53.1% (17-32) shooting, including 8 trifectas. Sophomore guard Carson Parker led the Upper Iowa offense in the first half with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting in just 9 minutes. SMSU shot the ball better than the Peacocks in the first half, going 16-of-29 (55.2%) from the field, but struggled at the free throw line, going just 5-of-12 (41.7%).
  
UIU extended its lead to 17 with a Jernell Hughes three with 14:01 left in the game. From that point forward, Upper Iowa was outscored 42-19. In the midst of a 6-for-6 stretch from the field that netted 15 points, the Mustangs re-took the lead, 71-70, with 5:38 left in the game.
  
Southwest Minnesota State shot 55% (33-60) for the game and shot 10-of-14 (71.4%) from the free throw line in the second half to keep the Peacocks from coming back. UIU wasn't able to get it back to a one-score game late as the closest they would get would be four points in the final four minutes.
  
Jimmy Roth led a trio of Peacocks in double figures with 20 points. Parker added 14 points and 7 rebounds, while Jernell Hughes also chipped in 14 and was 4-of-8 from three point range. Freshman center Ethan Steinbronn played well off the bench as he scored 7 points and grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds, 5 of which were offensive boards.
 
UIU will hits the road for the first time in NSIC play next weekend when they head north to play Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul on Dec. 11-12.