The Upper Iowa men's basketball team used their best defensive performance of the season on Friday night against the Bemidji State Beavers, locking down their guests for a 80-61 victory. The Peacocks forced 24 turnovers, and scored 25 points off turnovers en route to their second consecutive win. UIU has now won eight of its last nine games, and used big nights inside from senior Jordan Hay and sophomore Munachiso Okonkwo to get the win. With the victory, Upper Iowa improves to 9-4 (6-1 NSIC), while the Beavers fall to 3-8 (1-5 Northern Sun) with the loss.

Bemidji State jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, but the home team quickly responded. Luke Lenhart connected from behind the arc to get the night started for the Peacock offense, and UIU would never look back. Upper Iowa tied the game at seven points, and a Hay layup gave the home team its first lead, and they would never give it back. After an Okonkwo dunk put UIU up 14-7, the defense began forcing turnovers. Upper Iowa built a 17-point lead at three different times in the first half, and held a 39-24 lead at halftime.

The Peacocks outscored their guests 18-12 in the paint in the first half, and the defense forced 13 turnovers. Defense was key all night, as Upper Iowa held their opponent to the lowest first-half point total in the Brooks McKowen era, since 2013. The home team was efficient on the offensive side of the ball as well, converting 41.2% (14-34) from the field in the first half, with the majority of the points coming from Hay and Okonkwo in the paint. Josh Weeber added 11 first-half points to lead all scorers, but it would be the inside game that Upper Iowa would turn to in the second half as well.

The Beavers put together a better offensive performance in the second half, shooting 42.4% (14-33) from the field, but Upper Iowa was even better to hold on to their big lead. The Peacocks scored 41 second-half points behind Okonkwo's 10, and converted nearly half of their shots (16-33). UIU forced another 11 turnovers in the final 20 minutes, and capitalized with 15 points off takeaways.

Hay led the way with 16 points and a game-high 8 rebounds, and converted 8-11 shots from the field. Four Peacocks totaled double-digits, with Okonkwo totaling a career-high 15 points on a perfect 7-7 from the field. Weeber added 14 off the bench, connecting on 3 of Upper Iowa's 8 trifectas on the night. Lenhart chipped in with 12 on 4-9 from distance, while Jimmy Roth added 9 points as well.

Jai'Vionne Green totaled a game-high 17 points for BSU, while Sharif Black and William Harvey each totaled 9 points. Bemidji State converted 40.4% (23-57) from the field on the night, but the 24 turnovers was their undoing, despite out-rebounding UIU 45-30.

Upper Iowa outscored their guests 40-26 in the paint, and 39-21 in bench points on the night. The 25-2 advantage in points off turnovers proved to be the difference in the game, as the Peacocks put together one of the best defensive performances in the last four seasons. UIU's win kept the Peacocks at the top of the NSIC South division standings, before they wrap up their weekend.

UIU will return to Prochaska Court tomorrow night when they face off with the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles on New Year's Eve. The game will tip off at 6 p.m., and will be available online on UIU TV and in eastern Iowa on KCRG TV 9.2.