THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S BASKETBALL…
The Peacocks (8-4, 5-1 NSIC) will look to start another winning streak just before the calendar year changes to 2017. Upper Iowa will host a pair of teams from the NSIC North division for the first time this season as they welcome in the Bemidji State Beavers on Friday, Dec. 30 at 8 p.m., before facing off with the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 6 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on UIU TV and will be available in eastern Iowa on KCRG TV 9.2.
 

---

 

GAME THIRTEEN	GAME FOURTEEN
VS BEMIDJI STATE	VS MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
DORMAN GYMNASIUM	DORMAN GYMNASIUM
FAYETTE, IOWA	FAYETTE, IOWA
FRIDAY, DEC. 30 || 8 PM || KCRG TV 9.2	SATURDAY, DEC. 31 || 6 PM || KCRG TV 9.2

 

---

PEACOCK STORYLINES...

48-HOUR SPLIT: Upper Iowa split a pair of matchups with the Winona State Warriors back on Dec. 17 & 19, playing WSU twice in a 48-hour time span. The Peacocks fell at home, 85-67, and were held to their lowest shooting percentage of the season, converting just 39% from the field. UIU bounced back on Monday night with a 95-82 win, shooting 50% from the field, including 15-29 from behind the arc. Monday night's game was the second time this season that Upper Iowa hit 15 three-pointers in a game, with the other coming at Concordia-St. Paul on Dec. 9. The Peacocks are 5-1 to start NSIC play for the first time since joining the league in 2006.
 
CARSON'S CAREER NIGHT: Junior Carson Parker led the way on Dec. 19 in the road win at Winona State. The Peacock point guard totaled a career-high 33 points on 11-14 shooting, including 7-9 from behind the arc. Parker put up his third career 20-point scoring effort and his career night was also the first 30-point performance of the season for a Peacock. For the weekend, the New Hartford, Iowa product averaged 20.0 points, and connected on 14-23 shots from the field.
 
SHOOTING IS EVERYTHING: After Monday night's win over Winona State, the Peacocks are now 7-0 on the season when they shoot better than their opponent from the field. On six of those occasions, UIU has converted at least 50% of their shots.
 
TRIO OF PEACOCKS HIT 100: Three different Peacocks have now played in at least 100 games in their illustrious careers. Redshirt senior Jordan Hay (105), and true seniors Josh Weeber (104) and Jimmy Roth (102) recently hit that milestone. Roth will start in his 89th and 90th career games this weekend, and is the only current Peacock with at least 80 starts in his career.
 

---

THE SERIES…

vs. BEMIDJI STATE: BSU holds a 12-6 advantage in the series, and have won the last four matchups. The last Peacock win came in January of 2013. The first meeting between the schools came on Dec. 16, 1949, with the Beavers winning a 97-69 contest in Fayette.
 
vs. MINNESOTA CROOKSTON: Upper Iowa holds a 13-3 lead in the all-time series, and have won 11 of the last 12 meetings, including a 72-62 win in Crookston, Minn. last season.
 

---

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS…

BEMIDJI STATE: Bemidji State fell to Minnesota Crookston, 82-81, after a last-second free throw back on Dec. 17. It was the second time all season that BSU lost while shooting at least 50.0 percent from the field. Senior forward Ben Best and freshman Jai'Vionne Green led BSU in scoring for the second consecutive game with 22 points each. Best shot 9-of-11 and 81.8 percent from the field while grabbing five rebounds, while junior guard Sharif Black recorded 17 points with two rebounds and two assists.
 
MINNESOTA CROOKSTON: The Golden Eagles averaged 82.5 points per game two weeks ago with wins over Bemidji State and Oak Hills Christian. Gable Smith hit a free throw with three seconds remaining to help the Golden Eagles to an 82-81 win over BSU, and had a crucial block to preserve the win at the end. UMC was led by Harrison Cleary's 17 points against Oak Hills Christian, while Connor Gamble chipped in with 13. Two players had career nights against the Beavers, with Clearly putting up 34 points and Chase Knickerbocker totaling 24.