The Peacock men's basketball team dropped their second consecutive game on Friday night in Sioux Falls, S.D. against the Vikings of Augustana University inside the Sioux Falls Arena. After a back-and-forth battle most of the way, the home team went on a big run in the final eight minutes of the game to put Upper Iowa away. The 30-12 run late pushed the Vikings past UIU, 86-69, and improved Augie to 12-7 overall and 7-6 in the Northern Sun Conference. With the loss, the visitors dropped to 10-12 and 3-10 in league play.

Dennis Austin III led the way in scoring for UIU, with 18 points on 7-13 shooting from the field. Augustana limited senior Carson Parker to a 12-point night, leaving the senior still three points away from moving into 13th place all-time in the Peacock scoring list. Parker's six rebounds matched teammate Munachiso Okonkwo for a team-high, and Kam Rowan's six assists led the way. Quentin Blaue added 11 points for UIU, while Okonkwo chipped in with 10. Rowan added nine off the bench in his first game back after missing last Saturday's game against Minnesota Duluth.

Rebounding and free throw shooting were the big difference in the game on Friday. The Vikings outrebounded the Peacocks 44-31 including 31 defensive rebounds to just 9 offensive boards for UIU. The Peacocks converted 9-14 from the foul line, but Augustana got their more often, and connected. The home team went 18-19 from the charity stripe, and continued to make key shots to put pressure on the Peacocks. For the game, UIU converted 27-66 (40.9%), while the Vikings shot 46.0% (29-63) including 10-23 from behind the arc.

With the game tied at 57 with 8:52 to play, Augustana used an immediate 11-2 run to pull away. Just prior to that moment, Upper Iowa went on an 11-2 run of their own to get the game within striking distance. However, with hot shooting at key moments, and solid defense, Augustana had the momentum late when it counted most. With a nine-point, 68-59 lead, the home team stretch the lead out slowly the rest of the way to pull away by 17 points, their largest lead of the game. It was a far different tune than what happened at the beginning of the game.

Neither team had a lead larger than five points in the first 13 minutes of the game. Upper Iowa had two five-point leads in the first half, thanks to three-point shooting from Blaue and Joe Smoldt. Augie went on a run with 7 minutes to go in the half, and led by as many as eight near the end of the period. However, Austin III and Mitch Eighme got key buckets inside to make it a four-point game at halftime.

After multiple 8-point leads in the early moments of the second half, the visitors continued to get back in the game, and it appeared as if it would be a lower-scoring contest. However, with the game tied at 57, the Vikings used the late run to put the game away, and still get the home team to nearly 90 points.

Upper Iowa will travel over to Wayne, Neb. on Saturday, Jan. 20 to battle the Wildcats of Wayne State College at 6 p.m. to close out the weekend.