The Upper Iowa men's basketball team earned its third straight NSIC victory and second consecutive strong defensive performance with an 81-68 win over the Cougars of USF in Sioux Falls, S.D., Saturday night. The Peacocks shot a season-high 88.5% (23-26) from the free throw line in the win, while the Cougars were just 5-of-11 from the charity stripe.

UIU never trailed in the game and the only tie was at 2-2. The Peacocks then jumped out to a 10-2 lead less than five minutes into the opening half and took a 39-29 lead into the break.

Sioux Falls scored the first five points of the second half to cut the Upper Iowa lead to five, 39-34. But the Peacocks were able to withstand the early rally from the Cougars and pushed the difference back to double digits. UIU kept the lead around 10 for the remainder of the game, including knocking down all four free throws that they took in the final minute.

Sophomore guard Carson Parker led the Peacocks with 23 points and added 5 rebounds. Junior guard Luke Lenhart, fresh off tying his career high of 27 points against SMSU, was the only other Upper Iowa player in double figures with 12 points, while grabbing 6 rebounds. Jernell Hughes, Jimmy Roth and Josh Weeber all chipped in 8 points, and Jace Hanna snagged a team-high 7 boards. 

Upper Iowa stays on the road for their next two games as they head northwest to Minot and Bismarck, N.D., to play the Beavers of Minot State and the Marauders of U-Mary on Jan. 15-16.