Box Score The Peacock men's basketball team came out of the holiday break strong on Saturday afternoon up in Bemidji, Minn. against the Beavers of Bemidji State University. Upper Iowa jumped out to a huge lead early on and held as much as a 19-point advantage in the second half before a late run by the home team. However, UIU held on in the end for an 84-75 victory to earn their second straight win. The Peacocks now improve to 9-7 overall and 2-5 in the Northern Sun Conference. Bemidji State drops to 5-7 and 2-5 in the league with the loss.

It was a 22-7 start for Upper Iowa thanks to three-pointers by Carson Parker, Joe Smoldt, and Jareese Williams (2). UIU jumped out to a huge first-half advantage, and the home team finally broke the trend with a key three-pointer themselves. With a 31-20 lead, Dennis Austin III connected on a layup and Smoldt hit another three to push the lead to their largest of the first half, 36-20. The Peacocks took a 46-36 lead into the half after BSU got some momentum back, finishing the period on a 16-10 run.

The visitors shot 50% (16-32) from the floor in the first 20 minutes, including 6-14 (43%) from behind the arc. The key came in the turnover battle, as the Peacocks forced 10 Beaver turnovers, and only gave it away five times themselves. UIU also connected on 8-11 from the charity stripe to help build the lead.

In the second half, Bemidji State started to put a run together, however, it would be too late. Immediately out of halftime, though, it was the Peacocks who came out strong. UIU built up a 19-point, 75-56 advantage with 8:23 to play in the game. Over that stretch (12 minutes), the visitors outscored their opponent 29-20 to hold their largest lead of the ballgame.

At that point, the Beavers began their comeback. BSU went on an immediate 11-0 run to get within 75-67, and all of a sudden, the game was back on. After a timeout, UIU's Kam Rowan hit a key jump shot to go back up 10 points, 77-57. Bemidji State had a long way to go with 3:32 to play, but they kept putting pressure on the Peacocks. A quick 5-0 spurt got BSU within five, 77-72, with 1:25 to play. However, Smoldt hit yet another three with 52 seconds to ice the game. UIU held on, 84-75, to earn their second consecutive victory, and their second win in conference play.

Smoldt led the way with 19 points on 5-11 shooting including 4-9 from the three-point line. Austin III recorded 18 points on 6-12, and hit 6-7 from the free throw line as well. Parker tallied 14 points 4-7, and added a game-high 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Rowan added 14 points off the bench on 6-9 from the floor as well.

The Peacocks will head west over to Crookston, Minn. for a New Year's Eve date with the Golden Eagles of the University of Minnesota Crookston Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.