Upper Iowa men's basketball team put together their best game of the young season on Saturday night in Rensselaer, Ind. The Peacocks jumped out to a 15-point first-half lead over the St. Joseph's Pumas, and held strong in the second half defensively to win the McDonald's Thanksgiving Classic. Six Peacocks scored in double figures as UIU totaled its highest scoring output of the season. The 91-76 victory pushed Upper Iowa to 3-3 on the season, while St. Joseph's falls to 4-2.
 
The hosts from St. Joseph's held an early 8-6 lead, but after a Josh Weeber three-pointer, Upper Iowa would never trail again. In a 1:30 span, Weeber scored six points in a 10-0 run to give UIU a cushion. Jordan Hay hit a three-pointer at the 9:35 mark to give the Peacocks their first double-digit lead (11). A Luke Lenhart triple stretched UIU's lead to 19 points with 2:26 to play in the half, and UIU held a 47-32 lead at the intermission.

Head Coach Brooks McKowen and his staff wanted his players to focus on their defensive play in this tournament over the holiday. The Peacocks responded nicely, especially in the first half. UIU held the Pumas to 10-30 (30.0%) shooting, including 2-13 (15.4%) from behind the arc. Eight first-half turnovers for St. Joseph's spelled doom, and Upper Iowa cashed in with 14 points off turnovers in the first period.

Upper Iowa's lead was never smaller than 10 in the second half, and after a Kam Rowan layup at the 11:29 mark, the Peacocks held a 24-point advantage, 71-47. Despite not hitting a trifecta in the second period, UIU cruised to a 91-76 victory behind 14-21 shooting from the field, and 16-19 shooting from the charity stripe. Upper Iowa dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Pumas 20-10 in the final 20 minutes. The Peacocks were dominate inside, getting big contributions from Hay and Munachiso Okonkwo, and outscored St. Joseph's 26-18 in the paint in the second frame.

Bench play was once again a big factor for the Peacocks, as UIU outscored their opponent 29-19 in bench points. UIU did commit 12 second-half turnovers, but were able to get outstanding play at the glass (38-29 UIU) to win the game.

Dennis Austin III led the way with 20 points on 8-9 shooting, while Jordan Hay chipped in 14 points and a team-high 7 rebounds. Jimmy Roth hit double-figures once again with 12 points, and Lenhart tallied 11 points as a starter as well. Weeber and Rowan totaled 11 and 10 points respectively off the bench. Carson Parker only scored 5 points, but added 6 big rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals to fill the stat sheet.

Upper Iowa is riding its first winning streak of the season and will put it to the test next weekend when they open up Northern Sun Conference play in Fayette. The Peacocks will host the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs in Dorman Gymnasium next Friday, Dec. 2 at 8 p.m., and then will take on the Sioux Falls Cougars on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. to wrap up the first conference weekend of the season. Both games will have a live stats option, and will be broadcast on UIU TV. The weekend's games will also be available in eastern Iowa to view on KCRG TV 9.2 and 9.3.