The Peacock men's basketball team honored their five seniors on Saturday night prior to their NSIC South matchup with Concordia-St. Paul, and the veterans responded with their 10th home win of the season. Upper Iowa put together nearly identical halves, outscoring the Golden Bears 37-31 in the first and 38-30 in the second to pull out the 75-61 victory. With the win, UIU improves to 18-8 overall and 15-5 in the Northern Sun Conference. CSP drops to 5-22 overall and 2-18 in league play. The Peacocks close out their home schedule with a 10-2 record, their best record in Dorman Gymnasium at the NCAA Division II level.

Upper Iowa switched their starting lineup for the first time all season long, with Head Coach Brooks McKowen putting his five seniors in the lineup to begin the game. After honoring the veterans on Senior Night prior to the game, Luke Lenhart, Jimmy Roth, Jace Hanna, Jordan Hay, and Josh Weeber helped give the Peacocks an early 18-6 lead after a 13-0 run. This was the first time all season that Upper Iowa used a different starting lineup, and the seniors responded in a big way. After a Weeber jumper from the baseline, the home team led 34-23 with 3:30 left in the opening half. However, the visitors would close the gap. CSP used an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to three, but a Roth free throw and a Mitch Eighme jumper gave the Peacocks a 37-31 halftime lead.

The second half featured solid Peacock defense throughout the entire 20 minutes. UIU held the Golden Bears to 11-32 shooting from the field (34.4%), including 2-9 (22.2%) from behind the arc. Upper Iowa converted 43.5% from the floor (10-23), and hit 5 triples in the half. The home team was stellar at the free throw line, especially late in the game to secure the win, finishing 13-16 in the second half at the charity stripe. The Peacocks hit eight straight free throws with a combination of Hay, Roth, and Carson Parker. Neither team made a run larger than six in the second frame, but Upper Iowa outscored their guests 38-30 in the period to secure the win.

For the game, UIU converted 25-53 (47.2%) from the field, including 8-23 from downtown. Roth finished with a game-high 25 points on 7-9 shooting. The Marion, Iowa native converted 9-11 from the charity stripe as well in his final home regular season game. Weeber totaled 13 points as a starter for the first time this season, while Parker added 6.

The Peacock senior class was the spotlight of the weekend. As a group they have won 67 games in four seasons, including 50 NSIC wins. The Peacock men's basketball program has 102 wins as a member of the Northern Sun Conference, and just under half of them belong to this group. These five have been a major focus in the three consecutive home NSIC Tournament wins, and have combined for a grand total of 4,876 points. This group has played in 556 games as a group and have been the nucleus of the team that has the best conference record since joining the league (15-5).

Upper Iowa hits the road for their final weekend of the regular season, as they battle a pair of NSIC south opponents. UIU will head to Wayne, Neb. to battle the Wayne State Wildcats at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17, before squaring off with the Augustana Vikings in Sioux Falls, S.D. at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18. Live audio is available here. UIU will get one more home game on Wednesday, Feb. 22 in the first round of the 2017 NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball at 7 p.m. That game will be broadcast online on UIU TV and in eastern Iowa on KCRG TV 9.2.