The Peacock men's basketball team faced off with the Winona State Warriors for the second time in three days on Monday night up in Winona, Minn. Upper Iowa, who dropped the first matchup 85-67 in Fayette, found their offensive rhythm during the game to pick up a dominating 95-82 victory. UIU used the long ball to split the season series with the Warriors, converting 15-29 from behind the arc. Carson Parker's career-high 33 points led the Peacocks to an 8-5 overall record, and a 5-1 start in the NSIC. With the loss, WSU drops to 5-5 and 2-4 in league play.

It was Winona State who jumped out to the good start on Monday night. The home team converted inside with six straight layups to start the game, including a three-point play from Tommy Gathje to put the Warriors up 13-4. Upper Iowa called a timeout to stop the run, but WSU continued to attack inside and stretch out an early 10-point lead, 17-7. Then Parker took over for the Peacocks. The junior point guard scored 19 of Upper Iowa's final 29 points of the first half, including five trifectas. The New Hartford, Iowa native scored 8 consecutive points to cut into the deficit, getting UIU within 26-25. A Josh Weeber three-pointer with 3:21 left in the half gave Upper Iowa its first lead of the game, 34-33. Weeber and Parker would connect on back-to-back triples to the Peacocks up 40-37 at halftime.

Halftime is an important factor for both teams coming into the game. Upper Iowa is now 6-0 on the season when they lead or are tied at the intermission. In all 10 games played by Winona State, the halftime leader has gone on to win the game. The visitors shot 7-17 from distance in the first half, and converted 15-38 from the field as a whole. UIU held a three-point halftime lead, and would start to open it up early in the second half.

The Peacocks stormed out of the gates with the first 12 points of the second frame, led by a pair of Jimmy Roth three-pointers. Weeber and Luke Lenhart connected on a pair of long balls to extend Upper Iowa's lead out to 65-50, and the home team would never recover. Winona State played catch-up the rest of the time, and UIU would hold on for the win. The Warriors got within six points at 67-61, but the Peacocks put together another 10-1 run to put the game away for good.

Both teams shot well in the second half, with Upper Iowa converting 64.3% (18-28) from the field, including 8-12 from behind the arc. The Warrior shot 15-34 (44.1%) from the floor, with 10 of those shots coming from distance. Parker added 14 more points in the second half to put his game total to 33, a new carer high. The junior also tied for a game-high 8 rebounds, and added 5 assists and 1 steal to stuff the stat sheet. Lenhart totaled 14 points, while Roth and Weeber each added 13. Kam Rowan finished with 10 points off the bench for UIU, giving the Peacocks five players scoring in double-figures for the third time in the last four games.

Tommy Gathje totaled 21 points to lead the Warriors, while Riley Bambenek added 18, and Corey Jeffs and Isaiah Gray each totaled 15. Upper Iowa forced 18 Winona State turnovers, including 12 steals on the night to propel their transition game.

Upper Iowa will take a break for the holiday season, and will be back in action 10 days from now on Friday, Dec. 30 back in Dorman Gymnasium in Fayette. The Peacocks will take on the Bemidji State Beavers at 8 p.m. on the 30th before squaring off with the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles on New Year's Eve at 6 p.m.