Upper Iowa fell just short of another late-game win on Friday night at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, Minn. The Peacocks trailed late, 92-89, with just seconds remaining. Carson Parker, who hit the game-winning three-pointer in overtime last week at #19 Southwest Minnesota State, came down the floor and missed a three-pointer with seconds remaining. After a jump ball on the rebound attempt, the Peacocks had one last chance to send the game to overtime. Parker inbounded the ball to Jimmy Roth, but Roth's three-point shot fell just short as St. Cloud State held on for the three-point win.
 
With the loss, Upper Iowa falls to 11-6 overall and 8-3 in the NSIC, while the Huskies improve to 12-7 overall and 8-2 in league play with the victory.
 
Dennis Austin III led the Peacocks with 20 points on 9-12 shooting despite battling foul trouble throughout the night. Parker totaled 19 points on 8-11 from the field, including 3-5 from behind the arc. Roth added 17 points on the night, while Luke Lenhart added 12 and Mitch Eighme contributed with 10. Kam Rowan led the team in rebounding with 8 boards. Roth and Jordan Hay each battled foul trouble along with Austin on Friday night as well.
 
St. Cloud State led by four points with 1:21 remaining, and Upper Iowa was in need of a basket. Roth connected on a jumper to get the visitors within two, 89-87, and then it came down to defense. Upper Iowa forced a missed shot at the other end, but the ball went off of Upper Iowa and out of bounds to give the home team the ball with 26 seconds remaining. The Peacocks were forced to foul, and SCSU's Trevon Marshall knocked down a pair of free throws to extend the lead back to four, 91-87.
 
On the offensive end, Roth was fouled just seconds later, and the senior connected on both foul shots to get UIU within two again, 91-89. The Peacocks would foul SCSU's Gage Davis on the ensuing inbound, and the NSIC's leading scorer could only connect on one of two foul shots to give Upper Iowa a chance. UIU went down the court on the final possession, but the last shot came up just short to drop the NSIC shootout.
 
Both teams traded punches in the first half. The home team pushed out a seven-point lead, 17-10, at the 12:58 mark, UIU pushed back with a basket from Eighme and consecutive free throws from Roth. SCSU's Davis hit a trifecta to put the Huskies back up seven, 25-18 with 9:52 remaining.
 
After holding a 31-24 advantage, the Peacocks went on a 17-2 run to grab their largest lead of the first half, 41-33. Eighme and Parker added jump shots, Austin hit a layup, and Rowan followed it up with a three-pointer to get the rally going. Lenhart and Parker hit back-to-back-to-back threes to build the lead. Parker connected on a layup as time expired in the half to put UIU up 43-37 at the intermission.
 
The second half started with similar success for the Peacocks. Parker connected on yet another trifecta to push the lead to 11, 60-49, with 15:54 to play. However, the Huskies began to make their comeback. St. Cloud State used an 15-4 run to tie the game at 64 with 11:36 left, and then the teams began to trade lead changes.
 
Austin III connected inside to tie the game at 71 with 8:47 left, and then the Huskies began to find their rhythm. SCSU missed a total of eight shots in the second half, converting 73% (22-30) from the field in the final 20 minutes. Scottie Stone hit a jump shot for the home team to push out a six-point lead, but UIU pushed back again. Lenhart hit a three-pointer to give UIU an 83-80 advantage, but a pair of baskets for the home team gave SCSU the lead again. The Huskies built the 89-85 lead with 1:21 left, and the finish unfolded from there.
 
Davis, the leading scorer in the NSIC, totaled 26 points for SCSU, while Stone finished with 22. Trevon Marshall added 17 big points off the bench to lead the Huskies in scoring.
 
Upper Iowa shot 56% from the field for the game, but the big second-half offensive performance by the home team was the difference. SCSU finished connecting on 57% of their shots, and 73% in the second half to win the game.
 
The Peacocks will head up to Duluth, Minn. to battle the UMD Bulldogs on Saturday night at 6 p.m. inside Romano Gymnasium. Live audio is available for the game, and is available here.