The Upper Iowa men's basketball team headed south on Saturday afternoon to face off against NCAA Division I Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. The interdivision clash between the two Iowa based teams was a close encounter that resulted in a 95-88 win for Drake. The Peacocks held the lead up until 7:07 remained in the second half. The Bulldogs were then able to pull away and secure the win with a last minute offensive effort.

Jake Hilmer, a highly anticipated recruit for the Peacocks debuted in a big way. The 2019 Iowa Co Mr. Basketball went 7-13 from the field (4-7 from 3pt range) scoring 20 points as well as grabbing three rebounds, snatching three steals and recording a team high six assists on the day.

Sharing the load on offense with Hilmer was junior guard Jaresse Williams. Williams was 10-11 from the free point line, he scored a team high 23 points and grabbed five rebounds in the contest.

Senior foward Joshua Carter made his presence known in the paint grabbing 10 rebounds going head to head with the Division I Bulldogs big men. 

Lucas Duax contributed on both sides of the ball in the exhibition. Duax put up 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a team high 4 steals on the day. 

Sophomore forward Cade Moritz also had a solid outing for Upper Iowa scoring 11 points and grabbing five rebounds during his 24 minutes on the court. 

The two teams were nearly even in several statistics. UIU shot 46% from the field while Drake shot 51.5%. UIU shot 32.1% from 3pt while Drake shot 33.3%. UIU was 75% from the free throw line while Drake was 71.4%. The Peacocks had 37 rebounds, the Bulldogs had 38. The teams were a good match, but Drake was able to pull ahead late in the second half and win 95-88.

It was a team effort that allowed Upper Iowa to go head to head with the Division I Bulldogs and lead in the game for an extended period of time. Drake was selected fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll, one slot behind a University of Loyola-Chicago team that is just two seasons removed from an NCAA Division I tournament run to the final four. Upper Iowa's performance today should get fans excited for the potential this team possesses.

Upper Iowa's first regular season game will take place at the Central Region Preview in Kansas City, Mo. on Nov.8 against Pittsburg State University. Tip off is set for 4:30 p.m., if you would like to follow along via live options visit UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE.