The Upper Iowa men's basketball team couldn't quite close the gap with a last-second push against the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs on Saturday night. The Peacocks scored 10 points in the final 10 seconds of the game but there was not enough time left on the clock as SMSU was able to close out the game 91-87. Saturday night's loss drops UIU's record to 6-14 on the season and brings their conference record to 3-11.

The Peacocks trailed for the majority of the contest and fell behind as many 10 points but never took the pressure off the Mustangs. Upper Iowa was able to cut the gap to two points after knocking down some late free throws and a deep three-pointer from Jareese Williams with only two seconds left on the clock. 

For the seventh time this season, and the third time in the last four games, Jareese Williams led the offensive efforts for UIU with 22 points. Williams recorded his fifth game this season north of the 20-point mark and finished in double figures for the sixth straight game. Big second half performances from Kyle Haber and Chris Olson helped them reach double figures. Haber dropped 10 of his 15 in the second half while Olson scored all of his 11 points after the half. 

Upper Iowa hit 34 of their 67 attempts from the field and buried 15 of their 35 long range shots, the ninth time this season when the Peacocks have hit 15 or more threes. Williams led the Peacocks with six makes from beyond the arc while Kyle Haber knocked down three and Jackson Joens and Quentin Blaue each added two.

Both the Peacocks and the Mustangs pulled in 28 boards apiece in Saturday night's matchup. Munachiso Okonkwo was UIU's leading rebounder, grabbing six off the glass with Haber on his heels with five rebounds. 

Jackson Foley provided a spark off the bench for the Peacocks when they needed it. In his 27 quality minutes, Foley recorded seven points, five assists, and came up with some of key plays on defense. 

Upper Iowa will return to action on Friday night as the head to St. Cloud, Minnesota to take on the SCSU Huskies at 7:30pm. The Peacocks will then head to Duluth to take on the UMD Bulldogs on Saturday for a 5:30pm start.