The Peacock men's basketball team earned a much-needed win on Friday night inside Dorman Gymnasium in Fayette. Upper Iowa put together one of their best outings en route to an 84-74 victory over the Huskies of St. Cloud State University. UIU shot a season-best 58.8% from the floor and were guided by a pair of career performances to snap their three-game losing streak. The team improves to 10-10 overall and 3-8 in the Northern Sun, while SCSU drops to 11-5 and 7-3 in the league with the loss that snaps their three-game winning streak.

Freshman Joe Smoldt and senior Mitch Eighme headlined the scoring in the game, as both put together career nights. Smoldt scored a career-best 26 points on 8-14 shooting from the floor, including 6-11 from behind the arc that ignited the crowd at key moments throughout the game. Smoldt added four rebounds, and a pair of assists as well. Eighme was outstanding inside, especially using the pick-and-roll, and tallied a career-best 16 points on 6-9 shooting. His multiple looks inside helped guide UIU to a 32-26 advantage in points in the paint. Dennis Austin III rounded out the three Peacocks in double-figures with 15 points, and his 7 rebounds were a team-high. Kam Rowan added nine points with four assists, while Jareese Williams, Munachiso Okonkwo, and Carson Parker each tallied six points. Parker's eight assists were by-far the game-best.

St. Cloud State got off the early start on Friday, after scoring the first six points of the game. UIU did not get on the board until an Okonkwo free throw at the 17:28 mark, but then the team got going. SCSU's early six-point lead would prove to be their largest of the game, and the home team slowing started to take over. After early foul trouble for Okonkwo, Eighme came in off the bench and provided an instant spark, scoring eight straight points for Upper Iowa to pull the team within one, 13-12. After Austin III's layup put the Peacocks on top by one, Smoldt started to make some noise. The freshman would put together 13 points in the first half, and it got started with a trifecta to put UIU up four, 21-17.

Upper Iowa stretched their lead to seven points with 3:07 to play in the half, 37-30, and then closed the period on a 7-3 spurt to lead by 11, 44-33 at halftime. The 18-6 lead in bench points played a big role, as did the 18-10 lead in points in the paint. UIU shot 59% from the floor, and forced eight turnovers as well on defense.

Smoldt got the second half started as well with a jump shot to extend the lead, and he would not slow down as the game pushed along. He hit another three-pointer on the next possession for the first five points of the half, and the team would continue to go back and forth. St. Cloud State never got closer than nine points in the second half, and had to work even harder for their 41 second-half points. Whenever SCSU would get closer, the home team would get another shot to fall to push it back out. The Peacocks outshot the Huskies 58% to 48% from the floor in the final 20 minutes. Friday night was just the second time all season that SCSU lost a game in which it scored at least 69 points; the team is now 11-2 on the year when they reach that plateau.

After the Huskies got within three points, Williams hit a huge three to push the lead back to 12 points. Despite both Okonkwo and Eighme fouling out of the contest, the rest of the team stepped up in key moments to give the Peacocks a huge win in the NSIC. UIU has now beaten SCSU in six of their last nine games in the series.

Up next, the Peacocks will host the Bulldogs of the University of Minnesota Duluth to round out the four-game homestand. The game will tip-off at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13 inside Dorman Gymnasium. The game can be viewed online on UIU TV, and will be televised in eastern Iowa on KCRG TV 9.2.