The Peacock men's basketball team could not find a way to get the ball to drop on Friday night in Sioux Falls, S.D. Upper Iowa was held to 22 first-half points for the first time all season en route to the 73-57 loss at the Stewart Center. With the loss, UIU drops to 10-5 overall and 7-2 in the NSIC, while the win springs Sioux Falls to 9-8 overall and 5-4 in league play. The defeat also snaps a three-game winning streak for the Peacocks.

Kam Rowan led the way in scoring for the Peacocks with 14 points off the bench, converting 6-8 from the field in 24 minutes of play. Senior Jimmy Roth totaled 10 points and 4 rebounds, giving UIU just two players in double figures for the first time in 10 games. Carson Parker added 8 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in 31 minutes as a starter, while Luke Lenhart and Jordan Hay each tallied 7 points.

Mack Johnson dropped a game-high 19 points for the Cougars, with a majority of the points coming at the free throw line. Johnson went a perfect 11-11 at the charity stripe, as part of a stellar performance from the line as a team. USF totaled 20-22 from the stripe on Friday night. Daniel Hurtt added 17 points off the bench, while Clint Thomas totaled 12 and Zach Wessels tallied 10.

It was a slow offensive start to the game, with USF holding a 7-5 lead with 13:30 to go in the first half. The Cougars held just a 12-9 lead halfway through the first frame, and then the lead was extended to 10 at the 6:24 mark, 23-13, after an 11-4 run. After pulling ahead 27-15 with under four minutes left in the period, UIU used a 7-0 run to end the half, highlighted by a Lenhart trifecta. The three-pointer was the only of the half, as the Peacocks converted just 1-9 from behind the arc, and 8-31 shooting as a whole.

The second-shooting was not much better, as UIU converted 13-32 from the field, and 2-11 from distance. All ten of Roth's points came in the second frame, as the senior converted 3-5 from the floor. Roth pulled the visitors within three points, 29-26, to open the second half, but the Cougars used a quick 4-0 spurt to push the lead back out. Tom Aase helped extend the lead to 11 points at the 12-minute mark, and the Cougar defense would not allow the Peacocks back in the game. USF led by as many as 18 in the final 20 minutes, and held on for a 73-57 final.

UIU was out-rebounded 44-36 for the game, and each team netted 10 turnovers. The Cougars held the advantage at the free throw line as well, converted 20-22, while the Peacocks went 12-16 from the line.

Upper Iowa will head to Marshall, Minn. tomorrow night to square off with the No. 19 Mustangs of Southwest MInnesota State, who are 13-1 on the season, and riding a seven-game winning streak. Tip-off at the R/A Facility tomorrow night is scheduled for 7 p.m.