With 8:41 to play in regulation, the Peacock men's basketball team faced a 15-point deficit to the Minnesota State Mavericks in a Northern Sun Conference south division game on Friday night. At that moment, Head Coach Brooks McKowen called a timeout, and put his five seniors in the game. The Peacock veterans responded by erasing MSU's 61-46 lead in the final minutes. After a pair of late free throws sent the game to overtime, UIU outscored their guests 17-7 in the extra period to pull out a 10-point win. With the victory, Upper Iowa improves to 17-8 overall and 14-5 in the NSIC. With the loss, the Mavericks fall to 17-8 overall and 12-7 in league play.

Trailing by 15, the five seniors were put in the game to rally the team. Luke Lenhart connected on a three-pointer to get the rally going. On the next possession, the Peacocks looked inside to their big man Jordan Hay. Hay connected on a layup with contact in the paint, and after a key defensive stop, Josh Weeber connected on a long ball to get UIU within nine points, 63-54. After a timeout at the 6:00 mark, MSU turned to forward Jon Fuqua who converted inside to push the Maverick lead back to double-digits. Hay answered for the Peacocks, and down 65-56 with 4:05 left, the final media timeout came.

Junior Carson Parker and redshirt sophomore Dennis Austin III entered back in the game during the break, and Parker immediately made an impact with an assist to Hay inside to cut the deficit to seven. Parker, who had not scored all game to that point, connected on a three-pointer to make it a four-point game with 2:47 remaining. After both teams missed chances on their next possessions, MSU's Cole Harper hit a foul shot to give the visitors a 66-1 lead with 1:30 to play. But the Peacocks would not give in.

Lenhart hit a pair of foul shots 14 seconds later to make it a one-possession game (66-63). After Austin III forced a travel at the top of the key from the Mavericks' Joey Witthus on the ensuing possession, Upper Iowa had the ball, down three, with 54 seconds remaining. Parker went back to Hay, and the redshirt senior converted a tough shot with 41 seconds to cut the deficit to one, 66-65. After a quick Peacock timeout, Witthus missed a three for the Mavericks, and UIU had a chance. They went right back to Hay inside, and the Peacock forward was fouled with 7 seconds left. Hay missed his first, but hit his second to tie the game at 66. MSU's Cole Harper missed a shot at the buzzer, and the game went to overtime.

Hay got the extra period started with a pair of foul shots, and MSU's Fuqua answered with two of his own. UIU trailed by two before Hay went back to work. The Stanwood, Iowa native connected on an inside shot with a foul, and even though he missed his free throw, tied the game again at 70. Parker went to work a few possessions later. With 2:03 left, the junior guard hit another big three to put the Peacocks up three. After a Parker steal, the point guard found Hay once again for a layup to put UIU up five, 75-70 with 1:07 remaining in overtime. After a defensive stop, Parker hit another trifecta to effectively put the game away. Leading 78-70 with 33 seconds left, a defensive foul along with a pair of technical allowed Upper Iowa to hit five more free throws to lead 83-70, and eventually would hold on for the 83-73 win.

The beginning of the game did not feel like the instant classic it turned out to be. Minnesota State built up a 37-28 halftime lead, and led by nine of more points eight different times in the first stanza. The Mavericks shot 44% from the field on 14-32 shooting and forced 10 Peacock turnovers. UIU needed to respond, and started strong out of the gate in the second half.

Upper Iowa jumped out with a 12-6 run to start the second stanza, and quickly erased the MSU lead to three, 41-38, two minutes into the frame. After trailing 43-40 on an Austin III jumper in the paint, MSU pushed their lead back out over an eight-minute span. The visitors used an 18-6 run during that time to gain their 15-point lead. After that, the seniors entered the game, and the comeback was on. UIU never looked back, and outscored MSU 37-12 over the final 13 minutes of game time. It was a remarkable comeback and the second consecutive win over the Mavericks. In the process, Upper Iowa earned its first ever win in Dorman Gymnasium over Minnesota State, and the first season sweep of MSU as well.

Hay matched a career-high with 26 points on a near-perfect 11-13 shooting from the field, and connected on 4-6 free throws for the night. Lenhart totaled 17 points and is now 32 points away from the 1,000-point club. Weeber added 14 off the bench on 6-9 shooting, and Parker totaled 11, with 8 coming in overtime. UIU shot 51.7% (31-60) from the field for the game, including 8-14 from behind the arc. The Peacocks were efficient at the foul line, converting 13-17 attempts. Despite committing 18 turnovers, the home team outscored their guests 42-32 in points in the paint.

The Peacocks will play their final regular season home game on Saturday night against the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears for Senior Night. UIU will recognize Jimmy Roth, Weeber, Lenhart, Hay, and Hanna prior to the game, and tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on UIU TV and in eastern Iowa on KCRG TV 9.2.