Upper Iowa's season got underway Friday afternoon in St. Joseph, Mo. at the Drury Inn Tip-Off Tournament when the Peacocks took the floor against the Tigers of Fort Hays State. UIU hung tough with the Tigers, which is coming off a second straight appearance in the NCAA Central Regional, in the first half, but FHSU controlled the second half to win the season opener 82-56.
The Peacocks jumped out to a three-point lead, 10-7, midway through the first quarter thanks to six points from
Blake Bergren and four from
Blair Klostermann. A three-pointer out of the right hand of
Sam Ofstad gave UIU a 15-13 lead with just 18 seconds to play in the frame, but the Tigers converted a layup at the buzzer to tie the score at 15-15.
In the second quarter, the Tigers scored the first five points on a lay in and a three-pointer and pushed their lead to eight, 25-17, with a second trifecta in the quarter. UIU cut the gap to three thanks to Bergren's third field goal and a triple from Klostermann.
Ashley Ray knocked down her first three-pointer in an Upper Iowa uniform to cut the cap to two, 27-25. After
Bekka Pierson helped return the margin to two, 31-29, with a minute to play, but a three-pointer gave the Tigers a five-point, halftime lead.
UIU exchanged points with FHSU over the first three and a half minutes in the third quarter as the Peacocks trailed by four, 40-36. The Tigers broke the game open over the remainder of the third quarter using a 14-4 run to establish a double-digit lead, 54-40, as the contest moved to the fourth frame.
In the final quarter, the Tigers controlled the pace of play and extended their lead to a high of 30 points, 82-52, before settling for the 82-56 win. Fort Hays outscored Upper Iowa 28-12 in the fourth.
Fort Hays State claimed advantages in points in the paint (42-16), second chance points (22-2), fast break points (16-4) and points off turnovers (25-13). The Peacocks committed 18 turnovers in the game and the Tigers recorded 13 steals leading to their fast breaks. FHSU won the battle on the glass 48-24 and also made it tough on the UIU shooters with 8 blocks.
Bergren led the team in scoring with 13 points,
Sam Ofstad netted 11 points and Klostermann added 9.
The team will get back on the court Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. against the host Griffons of Missouri Western State University.
