It took everything they had Saturday night in the Twin Cities, but the Peacock men's basketball team survived a thriller at the buzzer against the Golden Bears of Concordia University, St. Paul. Trailing for 35 of the 40 minutes, Upper Iowa mounted a second-half comeback to pull ahead by one late, 74-73. Quentin Blaue's three-pointer with 1:00 left proved to be the difference, as the Peacocks got a big defensive stop to win the game at the buzzer. With the victory, Upper Iowa moves to 15-14 overall and 8-12 in the Northern Sun Conference. CSP drops to 5-21 and 4-16 in league play with the loss.

With 4:58 remaining in a three-point game (65-62 CSP), Upper Iowa continued to put pressure on the Golden Bears with half-court defense. The Peacocks scored on five possessions, all from behind the three-point line. Carson Parker and Jareese Williams each hit a pair, while Blaue's trifecta gave the Peacocks a 74-73 lead with 1:00 to play.

Concordia-St. Paul used 45 seconds of the clock out of the timeout, ending with a three-point shot missed from Bryndan Matthews, and the ball was tapped out of bounds. The officials went to the replay to determine which team should have possession, and after a lengthy review, CSP was awarded the ball with 15.3 to play. On the final possession, the Golden Bears went to the hoop, and a defensive foul was called on Mitch Eighme underneath. It was just the sixth foul of the half for the Peacocks, so CSP had the ball with 4.2 seconds left with a chance at a final shot. Matthews had a clean look at a fadeaway from 18 feet out, and the ball just rimmed out to give the Peacocks the come-from-behind win, 74-73.

Early on in the game, it was different. The first half was an unusual one for UIU, as the team scored just 25 points on 28% shooting from the field (9-32). The 28% is by-far a season worst in shooting in a half for the team, with the next lowest percentage coming against Humboldt State on back on Nov. 5 (31%).

Leading 18-16 with 9:16 to go in the first half, CSP went on a 13-4 run in a five-minute span to lead 31-20 with just 1:35 left. However, Parker and Smoldt help trim the deficit to six with a quick 5-0 burst before the break.

After a missed shot with three seconds left, Parker his a three at the first-half buzzer after a scramble to pull the Peacocks within six, 31-25. Parker's three avoided a season-low in points in a half for UIU; Upper Iowa scored just 24 points in the first half against Metro State back on Nov. 18.

The first half was a big one for Munachiso Okonkwo, who led all scorers with eight points on 4-7 from the floor. Parker's 7 points were on limited shots (2-4), but his six rebounds led the team in the first 20 minutes. Six Peacocks scored in the first half, but the team struggled from outside. UIU shot just 2-12 (17%) from the three-point line in the first period.

Quentin Blaue got it going right away for Upper Iowa in the second stanza, connecting on a three-pointer on the opening possession. The Peacocks immediately erased their deficit with back-to-back buckets by Smoldt to tie the game at 35 2:30 into the period. From that point, however, the Golden Bears got going on offense themselves to make a run.

CSP went on a 25-15 run to lead 60-50 with 10:34 to play, forcing a timeout by Head Coach Brooks McKowen. In that stretch, Upper Iowa was forced into five turnovers, and allowed the home team to shoot 54% from the floor.

Out of the timeout, Dennis Austin III got to the rim and made a contested layup to try to spark a run by the Peacocks. The redshirt junior then hit a pair of free throws at the 8:00 mark to pull UIU within 62-54. The teams went back-and-forth from that point, and the Peacocks were looking for a few defensive stops to build a run. Trailing 65-59 with 6:00 left, back-to-back stops gave UIU a chance, and on the ensuing possession, Blaue hit a three to force a timeout by the Golden Bears, setting up the outstanding finish.

Parkers' 18 led Upper Iowa on the night, and his 12 assists were the third double-digit effort in that category this season, shattering a Division II school-record. The senior's 8 rebounds led the team as well. Blaue's 17 points were critical in the second half, as the junior hit 5-9 from the three-point line. Four Peacocks tallied 8 points on the night, with Okonkwo, Smoldt, Austin III, and Mitch Eighme each contributing.

The Peacocks shot 45% from the floor for the night, and the three-point shot was the difference in the second half. After a 2-12 performance in the first 20 minutes, Upper Iowa bounced back to shoot 9-13 in the final stanza. The Peacocks made up for a 13-22 effort at the foul line by connecting from deep.

UIU will honor their two seniors, Carson Parker and Mitch Eighme, next weekend as they return to Dorman Gymnasium for a pair of games to wrap up the regular season. The Peacocks will host the Wildcats of Wayne State College on Friday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. before squaring off with the Vikings of Augustana University on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 6 p.m.