After a historic offensive performance a night ago, the Peacock men's basketball team had to find a different way to win on Saturday afternoon on the final day of the Northwest Missouri State Tournament in Maryville, Mo. Upper Iowa trailed by 11 points at halftime to the Roadrunners of Metro State University, but rallied in the second half, outscoring their opponent 44-29 en route to a 68-64 victory. The win is UIU's third in a row, and their sixth of the season, while the loss sends Metro State to 0-4 on their young season.

It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools on Saturday, and both teams made quite the impression. Metro State has a history of success in men's basketball; since 2008, the Roadrunners have a combined 224-65 record, and have made trips to the NCAA Tournament. Upper Iowa was looking to show a program from out of the region what they are made of, and they found a way to do so. After trailing early, UIU found their groove.

The first half, however, was all Roadrunners. Metro State outscored Upper Iowa 35-24, and it was fueled by a 42% shooting effort from the floor. The Peacocks struggled in the period, converting on just 10 shots, and only making one trip to the free throw line. UIU turned it over 13 times in the half as well, and were faced with quite the deficit moving into the final 20 minutes.

Senior Carson Parker got the second-half rally going for UIU, as he hit a three-pointer on the second possession of the period to cut the MSU lead to eight. From there, the Peacocks used a 15-5 run to get within 40-39 with 12:56 to play, with Parker capping off the run with another three. A Parker jumper from 12 feet out and a three-point play by senior Mitch Eighme tied the game at 44 with 11:18 to play, and the game was back on.

The teams went back and forth the rest of the game, as the Roadrunners would claim a five-point lead twice, but Upper Iowa was up to the challenge of getting back even. UIU, however, could not get over the hump to gain the lead until the 7:18 mark of the half. Freshman Joe Smoldt hit a big three-pointer to give Upper Iowa a 54-51 lead at that point, with Dennis Austin III earning the assist. It was UIU's first lead of the game, but the back-and-forth battle would continue.

Metro State used a 4-0 spurt to get the lead back, but Parker got a layup inside to go up 56-55. After Munachiso Okonkwo hit 1-of-2 at the foul line, the Peacocks led 57-55 with five minutes to play. With four minutes let, Smoldt got a key steal that would lead to a layup for Okonkwo to give UIU its largest lead of the game, 59-55. But, six straight points from the Roadrunners gave the opponent a 61-59 lead with 3:11 to play.

Trailing 63-61, Parker took a pass from Kam Rowan and hit a monstrous three-pointer to reclaim the lead by one. After free throws, the Peacocks led 65-64 with under a minute to play. On the biggest possession of the game, Upper Iowa used clock, but Parker missed a shot inside. Okonkwo, however, was there to clean up the mess and get an offensive board and a put back to give UIU a 67-64 lead with 22 seconds to play. MSU missed a three with 11 seconds, and a free throw from Austin III iced the game and the victory.

Parker continues to add to his stellar senior season, as he hit double figures yet again. The New Hartford, Iowa native led the way with 18 more points, and he has now scored in double digits in all but one game this season. He capped off his week with 49 points on 16-27 shooting, including 7-11 on Saturday. Parker also grabbed six rebounds and added three assists. Smoldt was outstanding off the bench yet again, scoring 14 points on 4-9 shooting from behind the arc. Austin III tallied 11 points on 3-5 shooting, and got the free throw line seven more times, connecting on five. Rowan got into double figures with a 10-point affair, despite being a little foul trouble throughout the game. Okonkwo added seven key points, and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Peacocks wrapped up the tournament portion of their schedule Saturday, and now will have a week off before the Northern Sun Conference opener in Dorman Gymnasium in Fayette. Upper Iowa will host the Warriors of Winona State University on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 4 p.m. The game will be televised in eastern Iowa on KCRG TV 9.2.