Southwest Minnesota State bottled up the Upper Iowa ball handlers and forced the Peacocks into turnovers and tough shots during the NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Championship game. The Mustangs (26-5) won the NSIC Tournament title 71-58 finally breaking through against the Peacocks (22-10), who had won both regular season meetings against the NSIC South Division Champs. UIU had averaged 88 points in the previous two matchups, but the Mustangs put an emphasis on their defense on Tuesday night propelling them to the victory.
 
Both teams spent the first six minutes of the game feeling each other out as the defenses controlled the pace of play with SMSU taking a 5-2 lead into the first media timeout. After both offenses began to find some footing, a pair of buckets by Kam Rowan and a long three from Luke Lenhart tied the game at 9-9. SMSU used a 4-1 burst to break the tie and grab a 13-10 lead at the second media timeout.
 
A trio of Joey Bartlett three-pointers and four free throws fueled another outburst for the Mustangs as they pushed their lead to nine, 28-19. Carson Parker's back-to-back layups cut the gap to seven, 28-21, as the teams headed back to the benches for the final media timeout of the first half. The Peacocks went on an 11-0 run including the second Parker layup to take their first lead of the game, 30-28. The run was highlighted by a Josh Weeber triple that tied the game at 28-28. SMSU answered with a 12-2 run to close out the half holding UIU to just two made free throws over the final two and a half minutes for a 40-32 lead at half.
 
The big difference in the first half came on turnovers. Not in the number of giveaways as SMSU had 7 and UIU had 6, but in the teams' points off turnovers. The Mustangs claimed a 14-2 advantage in that area.
 
A slow start in the second half, saw SMSU add two points to their lead by the first media timeout, 46-36. A 6-2 run for the Peacocks cut the gap to six, 48-42, with all six points coming at the free throw line. Parker and Hay converted inside for the Peacocks to cut the gap to four, 50-46, but a three-point play for Bartlett pushed the margin back to seven, 53-46, heading into the second media timeout of the half.
 
Two straight jumpers in the paint for Jimmy Roth got the Peacock fans on their feet as Upper Iowa pulled within three, 53-50, at the 8:21 mark. A 7-0 run for the Mustangs highlighted by a corner-three from Michael Lee pushed the lead to ten, 60-50.
 
Coming out of the final media timeout with 4:40 on the clock, Roth hit a free throw and UIU trailed 62-53. Lee dropped a three-pointer in from the opposite corner to give the Mustangs their biggest lead of the game, 65-53. Southwest Minnesota State secured the win down the stretch outscoring Upper Iowa 7-6 to claim the NSIC Tournament title, 71-58.
 
Bruggeman and Bartlett led the Mustangs with 20 points apiece as SMSU took advantage of a 23-6 margin in points off turnovers after forcing UIU into 15 giveaways. Bruggeman also added 7 assists in the game.
 
Hay led UIU in scoring and rebounding with 16 points and 15 boards for a second straight double-double; the fifth-year senior now has 984 career points. Parker and Roth joined Hay in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. UIU struggled to their second-lowest shooting percentage of the season hitting just 34% (17-50) of their attempts from the field. The Peacocks knocked down 21 of 28 at the charity stripe, but couldn't make up the difference for the low shooting percentage.
 
Following the game, the NSIC/Sanford Health All-Tournament Team was announced and three Peacocks earned a spot on the five-person team. Lenhart, Parker and Hay all stood alongside SMSU's Bartlett and Bruggeman, the tournament MVP, on the honored team. The three selections mark the first time a UIU player has been named to the NSIC All-Tournament Team.
 
Upper Iowa will now have to wait to find out their fate moving forward this season. The Peacocks are in the running for one of the five at-large bids to the NCAA Division II Central Region, but will not know if they will get another game this season until the NCAA Division II Selection Show for the national tournament on Sunday, Mar. 5 at 9:30 p.m.