Upper Iowa defeated Concordia University, St. Paul by a 104-91 count in Friday night's game. The 13-point win was the first time Upper Iowa scored in triple-digits since the Peacocks took down Quincy University by a 104-92 score in November 2018. Tonight's victory was also Brooks Mckowen's 100th career win as Upper Iowa Head Coach. After tonight, the Peacocks improve to 5-5 on the year and 2-2 in conference play, while Concordia-St.Paul falls to 3-4 (1-2 NSIC).
Upper Iowa took the lead early on in the contest. The Peacocks broke off on a 10-0 run to go up 17-10 with 11:51 to play in the first half. Jackson Joens started his scoring stretch during the run, providing six of the 10 points via two three-pointers. The team never looked back from that point on as Upper Iowa maintained the lead throughout the remainder of the game.
The Peacocks were able to expand their lead after an 11-0 run put the game at 30-14 with 7:07 to go in the first frame. Following that stretch, the Golden Bears were able to trim the Peacocks' lead down to one-figure making it 45-36 at halftime.
Upper Iowa capitalized off of turnovers in the first half outscoring Concordia-St.Paul 14-2 in that category. Joe Smoldt led all scorers at the half with 14 points. Joens helped carry the load with nine points, making three three-pointers on four attempts. Jake Hilmer distributed the ball well as he tallied six assists in the first frame.
Upper Iowa continued to control the game in the second half. An 18-2 run put the Peacocks up 72-50 with 9:20 left on the clock. Jareese Williams drained a pair of threes to help fuel the stretch that ended in Upper Iowa's largest lead of the day.
The two teams exchanged a trio baskets until the Golden Bears were forced to foul the Peacocks continuously in hopes of a miraculous comeback. Concordia-St.Paul outscored Upper Iowa 35-26 in the final 6:30. However, a strong performance from the charity stripe closed out the 104-91 win for the Peacocks.
STATS OF THE GAME…
- Upper Iowa out shot Concordia-St.Paul in every category: 50.8% to 50% from the floor, 47.1% to 45.8% from downtown, and 78.8% to 66.7% from the free throw line.
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The two teams were nearly even down low, the Golden Bears had 36 rebounds while the Peacocks had 35 on the night.
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Upper Iowa (22) totaled over double the assists Concordia-St.Paul (10) registered.
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The Peacocks committed just eight turnovers compared to 15 from the Golden Bears.
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Upper Iowa had four double-digit scorers, three of which scored 20 or more.
PEACOCKS OF THE GAME…
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Smoldt had 25 points on the night which is the most in a single game out of any Peacock this season. He went 7-12 (58.3%) from the field and 7-9 (77.8%) from the free throw line.
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Joens put up his season-high of 20 points. He also went 7-12 (58.3%) from the floor including 6-10 (60%) from beyond the arc.
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Joshua Carter also had a season-high 20 points along with a team-high seven rebounds in the game. Carter went a near perfect 11-12 (91.7%) from the charity stripe.
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Hilmer had 11 assists on the night which is the first time a Peacock has tallied 10 or more in a game since the 2017-18 season.
QUOTABLE...
UP NEXT … The Peacocks will return to Dorman Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday, Dec. 14 to take on the Mavericks of Minnesota State University - Mankato at 5:30 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear their best Ugly Christmas Sweater to the game. Live stats and a webcast will be available at UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE. The game will also stream live on the NSIC app through Roku and Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android TV.
