The Upper Iowa men's basketball team improves to 6-6 overall and 3-3 against conference opponents after Sunday's electric overtime win against the Winona State Warriors. The Peacocks defended Dorman and picked up the dramatic 82-76 victory and move up in the NSIC standings.

The first half was tightly contested early on with the lead changing hands eight times and seeing both sides even four at four points throughout the course of the half. The Peacocks found themselves trailing as much as eight points but capped off the half with a 12-5 run to knot the score with the Warriors at 34 going into the break. The star of the first half for Upper Iowa was sophomore guard Joe Smoldt who dropped 15 points in the half including hitting all six shots from the charity stripe. 

The second half opened with both sides trading a pair buckets until Winona State kicked off a 10-2 run that established a comfortable lead. The Peacocks tried to chip away at the Warriors lead but every time Upper Iowa would start to get something going, Winona would knock one down on their end and kill the momentum. That was the case until Jareese Williams hit a massive three with 7:30 left in regulation, kicking off a 14-6 run that put the Peacocks back on top for the first time since the early minutes of the second half. The Peacocks and Warriors once again traded baskets as the half began to wind down. With less than a minute on the clock and the Peacocks down by one point, Williams hit another three to give the Peacocks a two-point lead. The Peacocks and Warriors would end regulation knotted up 65-65.

While Smoldt was the bright spot for the Peacocks in the first half and Williams stole the show in the second, Kyle Haber shined in overtime. After pulling in a rebound one the defensive end of the floor, Haber marched the ball up the court and calmly knocked down a three to get Peacocks going in the bonus period. One minute later with the Peacocks up by two, Winona's leading scorer, Kevion Taylor drove to the hoop taking on Munachiso Okonkwo. Fortunately for Upper Iowa, Okonkwo rose to the occasion and came up with a massive block on Taylor's shot and preserved the Peacocks' two-point advantage. From that point on it was just a matter of knocking down free throws and Upper Iowa did not waste the opportunity, hitting 11 of their 12 shots from the line in the final minute of overtime to give the Peacocks the 82-76 win. Haber and Smoldt each accounted for seven points in overtime with Haber going 2-2 from the floor and Smoldt hitting 7 of his 8 free throws.

Smoldt would add to his 15 first half points and finished the night with a season-high 26 points, with Haber (19) and Williams (17) also having big offensive performances. Okonkwo had a big night in his own right, recording his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 boards. On top of his double-double, Mu came up with three big blocks and a steal to help guide the Peacock defense.

The Peacocks will return to action next weekend with a pair of NSIC games in Dorman Gym. On Friday night the Peacocks will host the NSIC North leading Northern State Wolves for a 7:30pm tipoff. Saturday will see the Dragons of MSU Moorhead come to Fayette for a 5:30pm start time.