The Peacock men's basketball team salvaged a weekend split with an upset of the University of Mary Marauders, 73-66. The Marauders were receiving votes in the national polls and were ranked in the central region heading into the weekend, but the Peacocks held U-Mary to a UIU opponent season-low 66 points.
 
UIU (10-11, 6-6 NSIC) trailed by a game-high 16 midway through the second half before mounting a 29-6 run over the final 11:14 to win the game. During that final quarter of the game, the Peacocks held the Marauders (13-5, 8-4 NSIC) to 1-of-15 shooting from the field, including 0-for-8 from beyond the arc, and had four turnovers. Over that same span, Upper Iowa was 6-of-12 overall, 3-of-6 from 3-point range and 14-of-17 from the free throw line.
 
Jimmy Roth matched his career-high and led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting, added five rebounds and three assists. It was the junior's fourth 20-point game of the year and second in a row after scoring 20 points in the loss to Minot State on Friday night.
 
Upper Iowa led early in the first half, 7-4, only to have U-Mary go up by as many as 15 in the first half. The Peacocks were able to work the deficit down to single digits over the final seven minutes of the opening half and trailed by six at the break, 41-35.
 
The Marauders quickly regained control and pushed the lead back to double digits, reaching as high as 16 multiple times, including with 11:14 left. With 8:08 left, the Marauders knocked down a pair of free throws to make it 64-50. The Peacocks finished the game on a 23-2 run, headlined by a pair of Elliot Kane trifectas. By the 4:25 mark, UIU had cut the lead to five, 64-59. Jace Hanna got a steal on the defensive end and Kane knocked down a deep 3-pointer from the left wing to make it a two point game, 64-62. After a Luke Lenhart free throw made it a one point game, it was again Kane who buried a deep 3, this time from the right wing, to give Upper Iowa the lead for time since it was 7-4 at the 17:25 mark of the first half.  
 
Kane finished with just those six points on 2-of-2 shooting, while Lenhart and Carson Parker had 12 each. Josh Weeber added 11.
 
The Peacocks return home next weekend for a pair of NSIC matchups, opening with Wayne State on Friday, Jan. 22, at 8 p.m.