Box Score The Peacock men's basketball team dropped their season opener against No. 5 Northwest Missouri State University on Friday night in St. Joseph, Mo. in the first game of the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic hosted by Missouri Western State University. The Bearcats used a pair of runs in each half to pull away from the Peacocks and post a 76-59 win.
In the early going, Upper Iowa found their rhythm quickly and built an early 13-8 lead thanks to a fast five points from
Munachiso Okonkwo and three-pointers from
Jareese Williams and
Quentin Blaue. Â The Bearcats began to chip away at the lead and the game was tied 18-18 with just under 12 minutes to play in the opening half. Northwest Missouri State launched a 12-2 run that didn't stop until
Joe Smoldt hit a three-pointer for UIU and Williams followed with a knockdown jumper. As halftime drew near, a trifecta from Smoldt and a free throw by Okonkwo cut the gap to just three points, 34-31. Unfortunately, the Peacocks were held scoreless over the final three minutes of the half as the Bearcats pushed their advantage to eleven, 42-31, heading into the locker rooms.
Two quick scores for the Bearcats in the second half grew the margin to 16, but Upper Iowa answered with an 8-0 run highlighted by two trifectas from Williams and
Chris Olson. After UIU's run had cut the gap in half, NMSU went on a substantial 13-0 run as their lead grew to a new high of 21 points, 60-39. The Peacocks pushed back though thanks to a 10-0 run fueled by five points from Smoldt and scores by Williams and
Kyle Haber. An 11-1 run for the Bearcats once again returned, their lead to 21 points with less than 5 minutes to play. Over the final four and a half minutes the point difference fluctuated, but in the end Northwest Missouri State claimed a 76-59 win.
Smoldt led the UIU scorers with 17 points highlighted by three triples, while Okonkwo and Williams both scored 10 points. Williams led the team in rebounds with 7.
Ryan Hawkins converted a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Bearcats, while Trevor Hudgins scored 18 points.
Upper Iowa will take on the Griffons of Missouri Western State on Saturday night. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. in St. Joseph.
