The Upper Iowa men's basketball team battled to a hard fought 90-88 win over the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Friday night in Dorman Gym. In a game that saw 60 fouls and 72 free throws, UIU rallied from a five-point halftime deficit and knocked down some clutch freebies in the closing moments to pull off the victory.
The game-winning points for UIU came in a bit of an odd fashion. UMD had just tied the game at 88-88 on a layup with 16 second left, and following the Peacocks inbounding the ball, a Minnesota Duluth player immediately fouled despite the score being tied.
Jernell Hughes calmly went to the line and hit both free throws to put Upper Iowa ahead for good.
From the start, the game was a rollercoaster. The Bulldogs jumped out to an 8-0 lead on a pair of 3-pointers. Following the second trifecta, UMD was assessed a technical foul, giving the Peacocks a pair of free throws which sparked UIU to an 8-0 run of their own to tie the game. Minnesota Duluth responded with another run of their own, this time 7-0, to retake the lead and the Bulldogs went into the locker room up five, 46-41.
The physical play from the first half continued into the second as both teams continued to throw their metaphorical punches with runs back and forth. The game was tied at five different junctions in the final 20 minutes, with UMD leading by as many as six, while the Peacocks' largest lead was five.
UIU took control of the game late by turning to redshirt freshman
Dennis Austin III. Austin III hit a jumper with 3:38 left and gave the Peacocks a 79-78 lead, their first lead since it was 55-54 more than 12 minutes earlier. The Apple Valley, Minn. product rattled off nine consecutive Upper Iowa points, including a three-point play with 56 seconds left which gave Upper Iowa an 85-82 lead. He would add another free throw before the Bulldogs rallied to tie, but it was Hughes who sealed the victory from the free throw line.
Hughes continued to power the Peacock offense as he led UIU with 26 points. The senior guard has now scored more than 22 points in four of the last five games, averaging 23.8 points per game over that stretch. The Imokalee, Florida native scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half, going 6-for-8 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
Junior
Jimmy Roth added 15 points and finished tied with Austin III for a team-high four rebounds. Junior
Luke Lenhart chipped in 14 points and had three steals. As a team, the Peacocks had to overcome a significant deficit on the boards as UMD outrebounded UIU 41-25, with the Bulldogs snagging 14 offensive rebounds leading to 20 second chance points. But the Peacocks held the edge in fast break points, 13-5, and bench points, 28-11, including those nine big points from Austin III.
Upper Iowa will be back on the floor tomorrow evening for Jersey Night in Dorman Gym when they play host to St. Cloud State. The game will follow the Huskies and Peacocks women's basketball game and is scheduled to tip at 6 p.m.
