Upper Iowa suffered a 61-59 loss to Lincoln University in Saturday night's showdown. The Peacocks stayed within one score for the majority of the game thanks to a good effort on defense and a variety of scoring runs. The loss puts both Upper Iowa and Lincoln at 1-1 on the year as the two teams split their games at the Central Region Challenge.

Upper Iowa and Lincoln went head to head in a physical battle throughout the entire first half. The half featured six lead changes, the largest lead was just a six point advantage for Lincoln with 11:55 to play. The game was tied at ten with 13:26 left in the half before Lincoln scored six unanswered points to get ahead 16-10. 

The Peacocks immediately went on a 14-5 run to go ahead by three, 24-21, and take their largest lead of the game. The run was fueled by six points from big man Cade Moritz, three-pointers from Jackson Joens and Lucas Duax, as well as a pair of free throws from Jareese Williams that capped off the run and put the Peacocks up three with 4:24 on the clock. The Tigers and Peacocks stayed within one basket of each other for the entire half excluding the two runs. Upper Iowa went into halftime trailing by just one score, 29-27.

Moritz had a big first half for Upper Iowa scoring eight points and grabbing four rebounds. Despite shooting 25% from the field, Jareese Williams again was the high scorer in the first half of play. Williams scored nine and collected three rebounds in the frame. Joe Smoldt helped the Peacocks find open shots and move the ball well in the first half. He had three assists in addition to a steal, a rebound and a basket. All three players had an impact on the defensive side of the ball as Upper Iowa was able to hold the explosive Lincoln offense to just 29 first half points. 

Lincoln outshot Upper Iowa 45.2% to 27.6% from the field in the first half. The Peacocks were able to stay in the game thanks to efficiently hitting seven out of eight free throws, making four three-pointers and putting on a strong defensive effort despite the poor shooting performance. Upper Iowa (18) stayed competitive in the paint, grabbing just two fewer rebounds than Lincoln (20).

Lincoln shot the lights out to start the second half. The Tigers went on a 9-0 run to go up 38-27 with 16:52 left to play. Upper Iowa answered with a 10-2 run to get within four points. Two layups from Lucas Duax and six quick points from Joens put the game at 43-39 with 11:42 to go.

The game of runs continued as Lincoln scored eight unanswered points highlighted by two threes from Lamont Ballard to go up 51-39 with 9:18 remaining. The 12-point lead was the largest of the day for either team. The Peacocks clawed their way back thanks to a 10-0 run highlighted by two three-pointers from Jareese Williams. Upper Iowa was yet again able to get within just one score as the game stood at 51-49 with 5:42 left to play.

Two unanswered scores put Lincoln up by six with under a minute to play. A layup from Joe Smoldt and a pair of free throws from Josh Carter put Upper Iowa back within two points with just 24 seconds on the game clock. Unfortunately, the Peacocks were unable to score again ending the game at 61-59 in favor of Lincoln.

PEACOCK OF THE GAME … Lucas Duax had an all-around great performance for Upper Iowa. Duax shot over 70% from the field, scored 11 points, grabbed six rebounds, grabbed four steals, blocked two shots and had an assist on the night.

STATS OF THE GAME … 

• Upper Iowa had four double digit scorers for the second consecutive night: Williams (15), Joens (12), L.Duax (11), and Moritz (10).

• Joens was a spark plug for the Peacocks off of the bench scoring 12 points in 14 minutes.

• Lincoln outshot Upper Iowa 44.8% to 35.1% from the field.

• Both UIU (26.9%) and LU (27.8%) shot below 30% from three point range.

• Upper Iowa went 12-17 (70.6%) from the free throw line compared to just 4-8 (50%) for Lincoln.

• Upper Iowa (15) committed seven less turnovers than Lincoln (22).

• Upper had 29 points off of the bench compared to just 6 for Lincoln.

UP NEXT …  Upper Iowa will face the University of Central Missouri on Saturday, Nov.16 at 7 p.m. The game is part of the Fairfield Inn Classic which will take place in Warrensburg, Mo. Visit UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE to follow along via live options.