The Peacock men's basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the 2017 NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament on Sunday afternoon with a dominant 81-61 victory of the #3 St. Cloud State Huskies. #2 Upper Iowa extended a nine-point halftime lead by using a 17-9 run to start the second stanza to open up the game. Late on Sunday, senior Luke Lenhart, who had not scored all game, became the 25th member of the 1,000-point club in program history after finishing with 4 points. With the win, the Peacocks set a new school record at the NCAA Division II level with their 21st victory of the season, and advance to the semis of the conference tournament for just the second time in school history.

Jordan Hay finished with a team-high 20 points on 9-11 shooting, and got help from Jimmy Roth and Carson Parker. Roth totaled 18 points for the game, while Parker netted 16 to help lead the way. Parker, an All-NSIC First Team selection, finished 6-8 from the field and finished with four assists and three steals. Lenhart only totaled four points, but needed just three coming into the game to enter the 1,000-point club.

St. Cloud State started out hot inside in the first half, with post player Jon Averkamp creating havoc for the Peacocks. Averkamp finished with a game-high 25 points, and the interior game was working. Upper Iowa locked down on the Husky stars Gage Davis and Scottie Stone, who finished with 10 and 11 points, respectively. The Peacocks forced SCSU to take outside shots, and in the process held the Huskies to 1-14 from downtown in the first 20 minutes. Upper Iowa opened up a 15-point first-half lead, but St. Cloud State came back to make it closer, getting within nine points at halftime.

Upper Iowa used a 17-9 run to start the second half, with Hay and Parker leading the way. The UIU defense continued to give SCSU issues, as the Huskies converted just 34.5% (10-29) from the field in the second stanza. SCSU finished 5-15 from behind the arc, with a majority of those coming late in the game. On offense, the Peacocks were selective all night, taking what the defense was giving them.

UIU finished shooting 61.7% from the field (29-47), including just 6-11 from downtown. Upper Iowa totaled just 11 three-point attempts, one of their season lows, but were able to convert enough to open up the lead. Upper Iowa played one of their most complete games of the season, closing out the Huskies in the game to seal the win. The Peacocks have now beaten St. Cloud State three times in the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament, with a pair of quarterfinal wins in the process. UIU won at SCSU in the 2012-13 season, and then defeated the Huskies in the 2016 first-round game in Fayette.

Upper Iowa will now play the #4 Minnesota State Mavericks on Monday night in the first of two semifinal games. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and will be available in an online audio broadcast on the Peacock Sports Network. The tip-off show is scheduled for 5:15.