The Peacock men's basketball team could not overcome a couple of second-half runs from the Northern State University Wolves on Friday night in Aberdeen, S.D. Upper Iowa held a halftime lead, but the home team used a 10-0 run and a 15-7 run to close out the Peacocks and snap UIU's five-game winning streak. With the loss, Upper Iowa falls to 16-7 overall and 13-4 in the Northern Sun Conference, while the win springs NSU to 17-6 overall and 13-4 in league play.

Despite four Peacocks scoring in double-figures, the visitors struggled from the field overall, converting just 27-69 shots (39.1%), including a 6-24 (25%) performance from behind the arc. It is just the third time all season that UIU has been held under 40% shooting, with all three games being Peacock losses. Carson Parker led Upper Iowa in scoring with 18 points, but on 8-14 shooting and 2-7 from distance. Jordan hay added 12 points on 4-11 from the field, while Jimmy Roth and Dennis Austin III each netted 11 points on a combined 8-21 shooting.

Northern State got off to the good start on Friday night, scoring 11 of the game's first 15 points. The Wolves used the inside game with Logan Doyle, who finished with 15 points on a perfect 6-6 from the field. Despite the early deficit, Upper Iowa came roaring back with a 10-0 run over a six-minute span to take a 16-13 lead with 7:53 remaining in the first period. The 10-0 spurt included six points from Hay surrounded by a Luke Lenhart jumper and a pair of Mitch Eighme free throws. Both teams traded defensive punches after that moment, and at the 5-minute media timeout, UIU led 24-22 after an Austin III layup. NSU used a quick 8-2 run to jump ahead by four, but the Peacocks got the final say in the first half, going on a 7-0 run with a Josh Weeber three and four straight Parker points to close out the half up 33-30.

Upper Iowa had trailed at halftime the last four games (winning each game), but led at the break on Friday night. The loss marks just the second all season long for the Peacocks when leading or tied at halftime.

UIU gained two different seven-point leads in the early moments of the second half, but eventually the Peacock offense began to go cold. Upper Iowa made just 13 field goals the entire second stanza, and even though they connected on five three-pointers, the inside game struggled to get anything going. Northern State went on its first big run of the second half (10-0) to jump out to 55-49 lead with 11:19 to play. After a Parker three put the Peacocks within 3 points with 5:52 remaining, the home team used their second big run to put the game away. Upper Iowa scored 7 points in the final 5:45 of the game, snapping its five-game winning streak.

Ian Smith led the Wolves with 18 points, while Doyle tallied 15. Mack Arvidson and Damian Pollard each racked up 13 points for the Wolves, giving the home team four players in double-digits for the game as well.

Upper Iowa was outrebounded 43-32, including 33-21 in defensive boards. The Peacocks did force 16 turnovers, but only converted 18 points off takeaways for the night. UIU, known for its bench play, was only able to get 12 points off the bench on Friday as well.

The Peacocks will look to bounce back on Saturday night as they face the three-time NSIC North division champion MSU Moorhead Dragons. UIU makes the three-hour trip north to Moorhead, Minn. with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m. at Alex Nemzek Hall. Live options are available here.